Piercing Through the Dark
by DexHexiX00
Summary: What started out as a normal day turns out to be a week of nightmares to come. Dr. Eggman is up to no good again. And this time, he's gotten smarter. Read full summary at the beginning of Chapter 1. Some random events included... R&R, please!
1. A Carefree Day or Not

**Piercing Through the Dark  
**_by 1Speak-th3-Truth_

* * *

What started out as a normal day turns out to be a week of nightmares to come. Dr. Eggman is up to no good again. And this time, he's gotten smarter. Now Sonic and his friends must once again stop the evil doctor's plans and save the world. This time though, it would not be so easy!

* * *

**Rating: **T (Teen) 13+  
**Content:** Violence, Mild Language, and Suggestive Themes  
**Rating Notice: **Some content within this story is not suitable for young children under 13 years of age.

* * *

**Chapter 1  
**A Care-Free Day...or Not

The sun shinned bright upon the peaceful metropolis as all of its citizens remain fast asleep. It was the awakening of this kind of day that makes you wonder, 'Why isn't life always this good?'. The feeling wasn't for forever, but it was the kind of feeling that made everyone, even the most fiendish of people, feel happy for a moment or two.

Well, all except for one person...woke up on the wrong side of the bed he did. But...we aren't concerned about Old Man Heatherbottom, 'cause he has absolutely nothing to do with this story, so, ah...goodbye ya old goat! Ahem, back to the story...

Let's look at Sonic and his friends, shall we?

10:30 am in the morning wasn't Shadow's happy hour. In fact, nothing was his happy hour. His muscles tense and wary. His mind about to snap. Sweaty palms and head. His frequent growling. All of this just because of one hedgehog.

"No, no, Shadow. Move it to the left!" Amy scolded. She had asked him to come over to help her move fruniture.

It wasn't like Shadow to want to help Amy move her furniture. But when the pink hedgehog had offered him 50 dollars, (she had to be desperate) he couldn't turn it down. 50 dollars was a pretty sweet deal for just moving some furniture _only _in the living room. But at this rate, she'd drive him nuts before the day was out!

_And of course, I'M the one doing all the work!!_ Shadow thought angrily. "Why don't you do some of it, Princess?" he snapped at her.

"Cause my fingernails were just painted and I don't want it to get scratched off or something." Amy explained as she looked enviously at her own fingernails.

"Oh, Lord help us all...so you broke a nail. Big deal!" his snarrling words stormed through the livingroom and all through her house. Amy didn't answer for awhile, however. She just huffed and turned her gaze away from him. Not because she was mad, but because looking at Shadow's expression when he's pissed off isn't something pretty to look at.

"Well, if you were a girl, you'd understand." Amy noted. Shadow just huffed and went back to moving the couch and coffee table. "Yeah well, thank God I'm not!"

The furniture was not easy to move, though. The silky thick carpeting as white as clouds themselves, was not exactly the easiest to got through with heavy objects such as a couch, coffee table, TV, etc.

Shadow grunted as he finally got the entertainment stand...TV and all...to finally budge. "Uh...you...owe...m-me...big time, girly!" he said in between grunts and stalls. "Yeah, yeah, just keep going, okay?" Amy asked. Her voice was more polite this time than her other comments.

Shadow looked back by the staircase where Amy had stood scolding him, to find she wasn't there anymore. "Great, now she ditched me too, damn!" Shadow made a fist and punched the couch hard enough to feel wind move through its creases. "Whadda ya mean I ditched you?!"

He turned around to see Amy by the doorway with a glass of lemonaid in her hand. "You can have some if you want, Shadow..." she started.

The relieved hedgehog whiped his head with his hand to stop the sweating and walked over to the kitchen doorway. A step away before a voice interrupted him. "BUT ONLY IF YOU ARE NICE!" Amy finished her statement.

Shadow looked back at her with a hesitating look on his face. "Fine, but no promises...got it?"

Amy smiled and nodded her head. "Okay. Just try...anyway."

She watched him until he was in the kitchen and out of her sight. Suddenly the door bell rang and Amy turned around to open the door. "Coming, hold up." she said.

She twisted the knob and opened the door. Sonic was standing there, holding a bag of chips in his hand. At first, the pink hedgehog cocked her head confused at the moment. _Why is Sonic coming to find me? Don't I do the finding anymore?_ she tried to hide what she was thinking by changing her expression to a content feel.

"Sonic!? What are you doing here?" Amy started out. Her voice still let out some of the suprise she felt, though she tried hard to conceal it.

He finished eating and threw the bag over his shoulder, only for it to fly into the trash can by her mailbox perfectly. "Just thought I'd stop by to see a friend, I guess." the blue hedgehog answered with his usual tone.

Shadow had just walked out of the kitchen to see that she had let Sonic in. "Sonic? What's he doing here, huh?" Shadow asked. His tone was blank as usual. But Amy could tell that somewhere deep down he was sort of suprised. But of course, someone like Shadow never shows his true feelings.

Sonic got off the couch, where he'd been sitting for a few moments. He stood face to face with Shadow.

"Didn't expect to see you here, either. So...how's it going for you, anyway?" Sonic stated firmly.

"Hmf, just helping Princess here set up furniture." Shadow said. He then took a rather large sip of his lemonaid. "And believe me," he started again, "it's harder than it looks."

Sonic looked back at Amy, who was reading a book. She looked up at him and shrugged her shoulders with a look that said, 'What did I do?'.

Sonic sat back on the couch and starred at the blank TV screen. "So you set this all up by yourself, I'm guessing?" Sonic asked. Though he had a feeling he knew what answer he was about to receive.

Shadow nodded and leaned against the staircase by the kitchen doorway. "Yep. All of it." he looked on the work he had done, then back at Sonic. "But I guess it was better than doing nothing."

Sonic nodded before standing back up. "Well, hate to bring bad news but, Amy...Shadow...we need to go."

Before Sonic rushed off, Amy yanked him by his neck and pulled him back towards her, causing him to plump onto the couch again.

"Hold up, Sonic." Amy said.

"Yeah. You didn't even tell us _where_ to go." Shadow commented.

Sonic sighed as he stood to brush himself off. "Tails found something weird last night." he began. Amy and Shadow listened very carefully. "Next thing I know is he's waking me up shouting in my ear something about...err...Eggman's plans or something."

Both of their eyes widened. "Great, Egghead's at it again, I suppose." Amy said in disbelief. "Does that guy ever give up." Shadow agreed with a fist high at disposal.

Meanwhile, a familiar doctor stood high on the mountains for the completion of his new high-tech fortress.

"Excellent. Tails received warning of my plans. Just as I wanted him to." the doctor exclaimed looking out at the sky through his dark, round glasses. "Now the world will soon belong to me...Dr. Eggman. Muwhahhahaha!!"

He raised his forearm and punched a few bottons on a wrist-device. "Step one is now complete. Time to move on to step two. Now that my base is finished, I suppose it will be easier than I had suspected. Sonic had better be careful this time around!"

And with that, Eggman walked through the massively impressive steel doors to begin...yet again...another nightmare for Sonic and his friends.

...

Sonic, Amy and Shadow had just arrived at Tails' work shop.

Cream the Rabbit stood outside by the front door. "Mr. Sonic, Ms. Amy. And Mr. Shadow?" Sonic gave her a small nuggie on her head, making her giggle. "Didn't I tell you, Cream? Just call me Shadow." the black hedgehog insisted. This made her smile even more. But her smile slowly fainted into a frown. "I'm worried about Tails." she started. "He has been pacing for hours now, and will not stop to even eat."

"Aw, it's probably nothing." Amy lied, hoping to make Cream feel better.

"Maybe..." Cream said

The worried expression on her face, however, did not change. Sonic, noticing that Cream seemed to be way down, knelt down to match her height. He then rubbed her shoulder gently and said, "Hey, why don't you come in with us?"

Amy looked at him strangely. _Why would he ask that? She was already inside. _Amy thought deeply to herself.

"Alright. Maybe after knowing you are here, he will stop to eat, perhaps." Cream noted.

Sonic gave her a smile while Shadow and Amy were already making their way inside. Sonic and Cream followed close behind.

When they walked in, Tails was still pacing nervously. His shelves with numerous inventions left untouched. A plate of food on a nearby table Cream had prepared for him was also left untouched. Perhaps this was as serious as Cream had described.

"Tails?" Sonic said. Tails just kept on pacing, dragging his heels as he went. "Hey, fox boy, we're trying to talk to you!!" Shadow snapped, hoping to grab his attention. To his satisfaction, Tails flinched and lost his balance, causing him to fall. "Oh, sorry." Tails said. The young fox rubbed the back of his head to sooth his pain.

"You didn't have to yell, though." Tails pointed out. "Well, should've listened the first time, eh?" Shadow disagreed. Amy finally stepped in. Now in between both of them, she pulled out her hammer, ready to whack both their heads off.

"Alright," she began sternly, pointing first to Shadow, "you stop bothering Tails," then she pointed to Tails next, "and you get down to why we're here, okay?!"

Tails studdered and drew back towards his computer. On the other hand, Shadow just huffed and turned his gaze away. "Fine."

"Okay, how about we get to the main reason why we're all here." Sonic insisted. The others nodded, now looking at Tails. The yellow fox seemed to be worried to even speak of it. He looked even more terrified as he turned his gaze to Sonic. The fox grabbed a seat and sat promptly with stern posture.

He spun the chair to face his computer monitor. The fox typed several things in computer text and then pressed enter. A new window popped up. A blueprint of some kind. Strange calculations and mathematical expressions took up most of the screen.

"Hm...interesting but, what is it?" Shadow asked curiously, standing to the right of Tails. "Even I can't make all of it out." Tails confessed. The fox typed some more computer text, causing the equations to be simplified. "However, " Tails began, "I did manage to find the basis of this blueprint."

"And?" Shadow urged the fox to continue.

"It's a device of some kind."

"No offense, Tails, but that's not really helpful." said Amy. Tails spun his chair around to face the others. "Sure it's a device and all...but how does that help if we don't know what it does?"

"I was just getting to that." Tails corrected.

"Apparently it rapidly increases the mass of a given target..." Tails said with uncertainty.

"So it makes you gain weight?" Amy shouted out.

All of them looked at her with their heads tilted. A look of confusion on each of their faces. "What?" she asked. She began to blush from embarrassement.

"Ah, not exactly, Amy." Tails continued to lecture. The fox typed even more onto the screen to show a virtual demonstration of the device. "It increases the force of a given object. You don't get fat...but your mass becomes too much to bare." the yellow fox explained.

"So in other words," Sonic began.

"It's a torture device..." Everyone looked at Shadow. "Trust me," he began, "I know what torture is."

The yellow fox nodded before continuing to type on the screen. This time, a large diagram showed Sonic being targeted by the strange device. "Hey, that's me." said Sonic. The blue hedgehog continued to watch with the others as it showed how Sonic's once fast pace being slowed down by his dangerously progressing mass force.

"Oh no!" Amy gasped. "So, he's planning to stop Sonic in his tracks." Shadow listed. "Hm, only one problem..." Everyone turned their gaze to the black hedgehog. "...how can this work. He'd have to hit Sonic right on the dot, wouldn't he?" Shadow asked.

Cream stood up from the couch and walked over to Tails. "Yeah. Mr. Sonic is much faster than the doctor." Tails looked at her with a concerned look on his face. "That's just it, Cream. After the part about the device, the equations and calculations become too complicated even for my processor to simplify."

Shadow closed his eyes in deep thought with his head facing the open window. "Looks to me as if things are uncertain." Shadow began. "We should be careful," the black hedgehog remarked, making eye contact with each and every one of them. "all of us...that includes you...SONIC!" He pointed fiercly at the blue hedgehog.

"Yeah, yeah. I know that already, Shadow. Don't have to be such a nagger!"

"I bet..." Shadow muttered beneath his breath.

Back with Dr. Eggman...

"You know what must be done, correct?" the doctor questioned a mysterious figure in the shadows of his lab.

"Yes. I will use Matter Shot...I will stop that meddling Sonic...once and for all."

"But of course. I knew you wouldn't let me down, K24-Z. And now that you are comfortable with you mission objective, how about we get started?"

"Yes, master."

Now back with Tails' discovery...

"What are we going to do?" asked a worried Amy. Sonic stood by the workshop door.

Things were stirring up in his mind. _What's Eggman up to this time!_ he thought angrily. Dr. Eggman always had a plan for Sonic to be destroyed so that he could create the _Eggman Empire_ and what not. Sonic had always been there to stop him. But all the other times, there wasn't such a mysterious device. If there was one, Tails could uncover it. This time, things seemed a bit different.

Shadow noticed Sonic wasn't as high spirited like always. The black hedgehog sighed, knowing he'd regret this later.

"Hey," Shadow called out, walking over to the blue hedgehog. Sonic turned to face Shadow. "everything alright?" Shadow attempted to sound nice. Sonic sighed and leaned his head against the door in dismay. "No. I'm not sure what to do." Sonic admitted. "You gotta be kidding me!" Shadow exclaimed in disbelief.

"This, coming from the guy that loved danger for fun. Hell knows what you'd get into just for kicks!" Shadow remarked.

"C'mon, Shadow," Tails called out. "leave Sonic alone for now."

"NO!" Shadow snapped. "This isn't the Sonic I remember."

Shadows statement of shock caught the blue hedgehog's attention. Sonic turned and looked at Shadow. "Whatever happened to that love for thrills you used to have?" Shadow continued to question out of his own shock in Sonic's discouragement.

"So what if Eggman's got a new toy. Let's break that toy just like all the others!" Though the others thought that'd be hurting Sonic's feelings, Shadow knew what he was saying was right.

In an instant, the frown on Sonic's face quickly changed back to a smile. "You know, you're right, Shadow! What _is_ wrong with me? This is great!"

All the others smiled. "Looks like Sonic's back!" Tails remarked, sitting next to Cream on the couch. "Be careful, Mr. Sonic. You too, Mr. Shadow."

"Okay seriously, just call me Shadow." the black hedgehog said, looking at Cream. "Okay, Mr. Shadow!"

Shadow slapped his head in response to her statement. "No-You...ah, never mind."

The others laughed at the moment. "Hey, what's so funny, everyone?" Cream asked.

"Nothing, nothing at all." Tails replied.

"So," the fox began, gathering everyone's attention, "guess we should start making plans."


	2. House Call

**Piercing Through the Dark  
**_by 1Speak-th3-Truth_

**Chapter 2  
**House Call

"K24-Z..." Dr. Eggman muttered to himself. "My greatest invention ever. An android that looks like Sonic. Brilliant, no?However, this will be nothing like Metal Sonic. That is one failure I plan on never repeating again. K24-Z is the ultimate fighter. The more you fight it, the more it learns from you, and will eventually master your abilities beyond even your own extent."

Dr. Eggman was apparently writing in a journal. The doctor continued to write, "For years, that blue pest has always ruined my plans. I've looked over and over at my past mistakes, and finally, I have my answer. Through all those years I've seen Sonic, not as a threat, but as a rival. I have not taken my unfortunate exchanges with him seriously. But now, I will. He is nothing I should rival with. He does not have or even share one percentage of my intelligence. Now I just have to put this intelligence to work, and I will finally fullfill my dreams!"

Eggman laughed fiendishly just at the thought of it. He picked up his pen again, ready to write. "The device I have constructed is known as Matter Shot. It is a device that allows me to torture a singe target with a mass they can never bare. In other words, the world's fastest hedgehog won't be so fast at all after I'm through with him. But this is where I make a mistake. How to hit such a fast target? That is where my new strategy comes along. I called it Matter Shot for a reason. I made a few modifications to it. It is set to a heatseeker mode, and it can even shoot up to thirty eight beams of light at a time. It's ingenius, I tell you! Sonic won't stop me this time, none of them will!"

Unfortunately, the doctor shouldn't of spoke his thoughts out loud. For he had a sneaky little bat listening in on his _open thought session_.

_So, he's finally decided to give Sonic a run for his money._ Rouge thought, looking around from the upper supports of the ceiling. _But wait!_ Rouge thought quickly._ Shadow could also have a hard time with this! I've got to warn them right away!_ But before she took off, she spotted a sparkling gold coin left on the support beam. She got out of her flight-ready stance, and turned to walk over to the coin. "Hello, how'd you get here? Well, can't leave you here, can I?"

But before she could grab it, a net fell from the ceiling, trapping her on the beam. Dr. Eggman looked up from his desk. "Tsk, tsk, such a naughty bat. Don't you know it's wrong to take things that aren't yours?"

Rouge gritted her teeth angrily. "Let me out of here, doctor!" Rouge ordered as the net began to lower her down to the floor next to Eggman. "Why? So you can go warning Sonic and be a hero and all? I don't think so!" Eggman hissed at her, placing his pen back into his desk along with the journal.

"Warn Sonic about what?" Rouge faked. Hopefully she could get out of this. "Don't play stupid with me, bat! I _know _you were listening, believe me, I _do_!"

Rouge continued to struggle to reach a knife stored away in her back pocket.

"Oh, and don't think about using that knife." Dr. Eggman said with a laugh. "And why not, Eggman?" Rouge asked, certain he was bluffing.

Finally, she grabbed hold of it and began to work at the rope. But the rope didn't even undergo a scratch of the slightest look of breaking. "What? Is this some kind of joke?" Rouge asked, disgusted at her position.

"Well, if you think it's funny, then I guess it is a joke." Eggman taunted, still packing up his things to leave the room. It was late, and even a villain needs sleep. Suddenly the doctor looked at her through his dark, round glasses. "Oh wait. What's a joke? Your situation, or just you? Because to me, their both a pitiful joke!" His words cut through her like daggers. Her expression turned fierce. "Just wait 'till I get out of here, doctor. You'll be the joke, then!"

"Ah, but my dear, Rouge, you aren't going to get out of here," the doctor began, finishing up his cleaning, "ever."

The doctor stood up and made his way towards the hall. "So what, you're going to leave me here?" Rouge asked in disbelief. The doctor stopped before leaving and turned around to look at her, still trapped in the net. "No, you can sleep in the guest room."

"Really?" Rouge asked, looking confused.

"Yes, of course...NO NOT REALLY!" the doctor exclaimed turning back around. The room's light went out as the door slammed shut. Rouge was officially a prisoner.

The bat tried and tried, but no comfort could come out of this. _Rouge, you're so stupid! Should've left the stupid coin alone and none of this would've happened! I could've been at Sonic's by now, helping him out with this...whatever it is...I don't care anymore...oh!!_ She continued to think of herself with disgust. It was dark, and she couldn't see a thing. Even for a bat, this was cruel.

But her pain grew even worse when she thought of Shadow. What would happen to him if Dr. Eggman got his way at last? Shadow would face the same fate that Sonic would. All of them. Even Cream! _Poor little rabbit, _Rouge thought, with a tear from her eye. _C'mon, Shadow...Sonic, both of you had better pull through this!_ Rouge thought. _'Cause if you don't, I don't know what any of us will do._

Meanwhile, the doctor, full of confidence, walked magestically through the halls of his fortress, on his way to a good night's sleep. "Finally, things seem to be going my way. But before I hit the hay, I should see how K24-Z is handling his responsibility." Eggman noted to himself.

Instead of going straight down the hallway, which would eventually lead on to his room, the doctor made a right to the computer room. It was where he could check in on his inventions.

The door to the room slid open as Eggman entered it. He took a seat on the black leather chair, and typed in a few things, brining up an image of K24-Z, on his daily walk outside the fortress.

"Come in, K24-Z," the doctor began. "Yes, master?" K24-Z replied. "I think it's about time the doctor's made a house call, wouldn't you agree?"

"Of course," the android replied. His voice differed from his inspiration. Unlike Sonic, it had no emotion. Its voice was cold as winter in Alaska.

Suddenly, it hit Eggman. A great invention needs a better name than K24-Z. A great invention requires a name they'll all remember. "K24-Z?" the doctor called out. "Yes, master?"

"I'm changing your name. From now on, you will be known as Sonic2!" Eggman declared.

The android nodded. "If you wish, than I will happily adapt. My name is Sonic2..."

"Very good. Now, attend to that house call, eh? Sonic must be..._dying _for one!" Eggman said within his laughter. "I will get right on it, sir." Sonic2 said with a manical feel.

"Good," Eggman said before turning off the massively large computer. Then the doctor left, the dark room's door shut firmly behind him.

...

The moonlight shined brightly. Sonic had finally got a house of his own just a year ago. It was surrounded by beautiful flowers that appeared even more dazzling in the moonlight.

The blue hedgehog was in the bathroom brushing his teeth.

His bedroom was amazing. The dresser was next to the opening to the bathroom, on the right side of his bed. In front of it, was an entertainment stand with an HDTV. To the left, was another dresser, this one had a mirror, and he had a king sized bed. It was the good life for sure. Or, at least, for now.

Sonic threw away the paper cup he used in the trash can, and stepped into the shower. For Sonic, there was nothing like a good shower to wash away your stress and fears. Too bad that house call couldn't be canceled!

The hedgehog drew the curtains shut and stood in the falling water. It felt relaxing and for a moment, it seemed all his worries had been washed away. Sonic can't swim, of course, but a shower never hurt nobody.

Sonic reached for the soap. Reaching for it, the soap shook and fell to the bottom of the tub, and slid out onto the bathroom floor. "Just great." Sonic complained. Reaching through the curtains, everything shook again, and the soap fell away slowly and slowly still. "Damn thing! Come back here!" Sonic yelled, his patience growing dangerously thin. With each shake, the aftermath grew worse and worse yet.

"Wh-What's g-going on...here?" Sonic asked, worried of what this could be. Climbing out of the shower, Sonic knelt down, about to go at it again, when _it_ also happened again, but much worse. Sonic flew to the one side of the wall. After getting back up off the floor, the hedgehog headed towards the open door. "You forgot to scrub behind you ears." a voice called out.

Sonic's eyes grew wide as he went to look behind him. But he didn't even have a chance to see before he was struck behind the ears with incredible force. Like a karate chop of some kind. "So I'll scrub them for you!" the heartless voice mocked. While on the ground, Sonic rolled onto his back to see...himself!

"Okay, who in God's name are you?" Sonic said, thinking of this as a cruel joke. "Urrrgggghhh!!" the hedgehog grunted as the mere image of himself placed his foot over his chest. Then the false Sonic pressed harder down. "Ahhh!!" Sonic gasped for air, having no breathing time. The pain seemed endless. As if it would never end. "What makes you think I will actually confide that towards you?" the androdic voice asked, seeing no point.

"Well, you would want someone you beat to know your name, wouldn't ya?" Sonic explained, getting little, but some air. "Hm," the androdic voice continued on, "well then, if this means so much to you, then fine. My name used to be K24-Z. But my master later changed my name...tonight to be exact. I am your replacement...I am Sonic2!"

"Sonic2!" Sonic exclaimed in pure shock. Sonic wasn't sure whether it was his horrifying pain, or his anger, maybe even both, but he had a temptation to go onward. "No one makes a cheap ripoff of Sonic the Hedgehog!" the blue hedgehog snapped, throwing a punch he managed to get out of the moment. It was a direct hit to the androids 'skull'. But it seemed not even the slightest of pain came out of it.

"You call that a punch, do you? A punch brings harm, does it not?" The android asked. Sonic was hesitant on listening. "Well," Sonic2 asked, wondering if he had Sonic's attention. "Yeah, so?"

"So, why am I not harmed? This is a punch, you fool!" Sonic2 dashed behind Sonic, blowing a punch to the back of his head, causing Sonic to lose conciousness.

...

"Well, well, well..." Dr. Eggman posed fiendishly before a new captive. "How did you get here, kitty cat?" It was a black cat, with yellow eyes and a ponytail. It wore ragged clothing, just barely fitting to its size.

"Don't I know you from somewhere?" Dr. Eggman asked, looking closely into the cat's eyes. "No, you don't." the cat answered in a soft voice, showing it was a girl. "Oh but I do, don't I?" the doctor intimidated. "Eggman Nega, Super Sonic, and... It all makes perfect sense now, I do know you! What is your name, cat?"

"I don't have a name!"

"You do, I know you do!"

"You don't know me!"

"Don't I?" Eggman asked, bending down to the encaged cat.

"No..." the cat answered coldly to his face.

"Well, melt the iron on these bars, escape from me."

"I can't. What are you talking about?"

"You can't because you're afraid."

"I am not afraid!"

"Then you're a quitter!"

"I'm no quitter!"

"You just can't do it! You're helpless!!"

"I'M NOT HELPLESS!!" the cat screamed, releasing a heat wave of fire, melting off what was black paint, ironically not melting the iron bars, but revealing the cat's true identity.

"I know you weren't helpless. But now you are, BLAZE THE CAT!" Eggman laughed onwards.

"Huh?" Blaze questioned looking down at her own fur. Her fur was purple again. "You ungreatful bastard!" Blaze spat. "Oh, my dear, that brings more pain to my heart than you know." the doctor assured.

"What heart?!" she continued to hiss. "Alright, enough of your taunting, or it's head-off for you!" Eggman barked, pointing to a a mechanically controlled steel blade. "Let me show you," the doctor insisted. Blaze, being a captive audience, had no choice but to watch.

Dr. Eggman placed a iron led-block in range of the blade. With the press of a botton, the blade swung down, and in one swipe swing, the block was in half. The cat gulped in response, rubbing her neck. To make it worse, the blade came down in reverse, cutting it again, and again, and yet again. Blaze, obviously wanting to keep her head on her shoulder, or any parts of her body attatched, shut her mouth, for now.

"Glad to hear you've reconsidered, Blaze. But I must ask you," the doctor began. Blaze glarred at him, but did listen. "What were you doing sneaking around outside, my dear?"

"I was just...wait..." Blaze realized suddenly. _My dear, that attitude, cold feel, this isn't Eggman! _Blaze thought, the pieces coming together. "Why would you want to know, Dr. Eggman Nega?"

Eggman looked shocked. "What? I'm not Eggman Nega...you're only half right, you filthy excuse for a rug..."

"Wha-What?" Blaze asked, beginning to be freaked out.

"You see, Blaze, I was tired of losing every one of my ingenius plans to that freak, Sonic. And Eggman Nega was tired of losing to you. So we made a deal I gave him a half of myself, he gave a half of himself to me."

"That's right," Blaze began to realize, "Nega always had cold and calculating technique. But when it came to force and power, that other evil half, he stunk bad. You, you had that, but lacked the cold, calculating technique!"

"Yes, yes, glad for you to insult me. Don't worry, kitty cat, I've made sure you won't be alone. Allow me to introduce you to your guest...or inmate, I should say." Blaze looked around confused, only to see a net drop from the ceiling. Rouge the Bat lie raggedly inside. "You monster!" Blaze snapped angrily.

"Why thank you, Blaze. I do try my best!"

After moments of glarring, her will finally gave, and she fell to her knees.

"Now, may I ask how you got to this world, Blaze?" Eggman asked in a much more calm manner. "I'm not exactly sure." Blaze answered with a sigh.

"And what's with the clothes?" Eggman continued to question. "I don't remember any princess wearing a rag like that!"

"I'm not a princess anymore. Eggman Nega has the run of the place. That's why I look like this. That's why I painted myself black. To get away."

Blaze's stature was failing her. She looked like she would cry at any given time.

...

"Ahhhhh!!" Sonic screamed, as he was launched through his own bedroom window. Sonic2 quickly jumped from the window, landing directly in front of the blue hedgehog. Sonic didn't even dare to imagine what else this bazzar freak had up his sleves. That's when the android pulled out a weapon that looked so familiar, it was frightening.

_"It increases the force of a given object. You don't get fat...but your mass becomes too much to bare." _Those were, maybe not exactly, but its how he remembered the haunting words Tails had said to him.

The weapon the android held out looked exactly like the weapon blueprint Tails had shown to all of them. This was definately not good.

Just like in the blueprint, the weapon was in the form of a ray gun. It had switches on the back of it, and knobs and dials on the handle. But something was different. From the looks of it, it could launch more than just one attack at a time. _What the? Well that's just great! Just my luck!_ Sonic thought, annoyed at not just the situation, but just the fact that someone would make a copy of him.

"So..." Sonic trailed off weakly. "...I...I suppose your another...one of Eggman's specials...huh?"

"Silence! I am better than you, more capable of things."

"Oh...yeah?" Sonic asked.

"Yes! I am faster. I am stronger. And I am definately smarter than you!" the android continued to insult. To Sonic2's suprise, Sonic wasn't moved, didn't even flinch at this. Instead, the blue hedgehog stood up on his feet again, facing the mechanical menace.

"What? You are still capable of carrying on?" the android asked, somewhat awestruck. "With that much power, you should have slowly been crushed...but you are not..."

Sonic's breathing was still hoarse. His heart raced. This was definately not good. "I guess I will have to use this after all..." Sonic2 mumbled. He aimed the Matter Shot pistol directly at Sonic.

From Sonic's point of view, this could finally be the end. For once, the moon didn't shine so brightly, and the flowers weren't so beautiful after all. That's when a voice called from the distance...

"SONIC!"

It caught both the attention of Sonic and Sonic2. Both looked out towards the road to see a black gust of wind dash through curve after curve. A mysterious figure jumped high into the air, landing next to Sonic's side. It was Shadow!

"Shadow? W-What...are you doing...here?" Sonic asked weakly. At this point, his lungs felt weaker than ever. It was beginning to feel worse than drowning in water.

"Saving your ass, that's what!" Shadow exclaimed. Though his tone was harsh, Sonic still smiled as he looked greatfully at his arch-rival.

"And who are you, hedgehog?" asked Sonic2. Still no emotion could be heard out of any words the android said.

"My name is Shadow. I am the Ultimate Lfe-form, created by Dr. Gerald Robotnik. And as of now...your worst nightmare!" Shadow pointed a daring finger at the android.

Sonic collapsed from his lack of remaining energy. He looked up from behind the black hedgehog, then to Sonic2. "W-Why...are you...helping me...Shadow?" he managed to ask.

"'Cause, if anyone's going to mess with you, it outta be me. Not some cheap bucket of bolts!" the black hedgehog explained.

That was the last thing Sonic heard before there was nothing. Slowly the faint image of Shadow and Sonic2 faded into nothingness. Itwas black, nothing at all. Just the thought of what would happen next. Sonic the Hedgehog was out cold. Looks like it was Shadow's time to shine.

...

"So, you were teleported here by some strange force?" Dr. Eggman asked, starting to sound more polite. The purple cat nodded. Though she tried containing herself, the corners of her eyes began to water. "Hm," Eggman looked over to a computer screen on the wall, big enough to _be_ the wall.

An image of Dr. Eggman Nega appeared on-screen. He was in Blaze's palace, running everything.

"Yes, can I help you, doctor?" Nega asked with his cold voice.

"Yes, you can." Eggman said, not being so polite.

"What?"

"How did Blaze the Cat end up in my world! Sneaking around MY COURTYARD!!" he snapped a finger out at Nega.

Eggman Nega looked fiendishly at Blaze who was still locked in her cage behind the doctor. Then he looked back at Eggman.

"That is a good question. I am as baffled as you are by this." said Nega. He rubbed his chin in deep thought before continuing. "Perhaps the Gene-Splitter I invented for our counterpart switch caused a rip in space...and Blaze must have gotten caught up in it."

Eggman nodded. "This is nothing serious though, I'm guessing." he assumed. Nega shook his head. "No, this is serious, doctor. Blaze may not stand a chance against me, but I am not so certain about you. Do not underestimate her. She is more of a threat than you realize."

"I understand." said Eggman.

Then the screen went blank.

The evildoer turned to look at Rouge in her net and Blaze in her cage. "Well," he began, "now that you two have met, enjoy your life-long end of suffering!" With that, he walked out of the room, finally ready to go to sleep. Things were looking brighter for him at the moment. Not so much can be said for Sonic, though...

...

"Ultimate Life-form? Are you some kind of joke? I am the Ultimate!" Sonic2 pointed out. Shadow just folded his arms looking up to the moon. "If that is the case," Shadow began, turning his gaze towards the mechanical menace, "why don't you prove you're the Ultimate?"

Sonic2 seemed to finally be annoyed by his enemy's words. "Fine then, I shall. It was nice knowing you, Shadow." the droid said as he threw a massive punch.

Shadow was too quick, however, and the android had completely missed his target. Shadow was nowhere to be found. "What?" Sonic2 asked amongst himself, confused.

Suddenly, a kick came from behind, smashing the android's mechanical skull. Static swurved around both of them. But to Shadow's suprise, the droid continued to function normally. The damage was instantly repaired befoe his very eyes. "Shit! How do I beat a robot that can heal itself?" Shadow gritted his teeth angrily.

"Are you okay? For a moment, I thought you were a threat. But I was wrong, however. You are nothing!" the android continued to insult the black hedgehog. Unfortunately, it only caused Shadow to grow more and more hateful of him. "Me? Worthless? I'll show you worthless you damn machine!" Shadow yelled, now glowing an ominous red color.

"What are you doing?" Sonic2 asked, a little shocked at the state of his opponent.

"CHAOS BLAST!" Shadow cried out as a wave of massive red energy engulfed everything. Sonic2 could not find a way out of the swirling red vortex. Finally, it hit him full force. Some of the house was even damaged. Not much, though. The android slowly blew away into the night sky. The faint whisper of static could be heard. But Shadow knew it wasn't over. That thing would be back, with no damage at all. It was time to make a run for it. There would be plenty of time to fight it off later. But right now, there was something awful going on. Shadow knew he had to find out what it was.

Shadow the Hedgehog was about to dash off when he realized Sonic was still out cold. The black hedgehog hesitated for a moment, unsure of what to do.

He sighed, looking down at his arch-rival. "You're going to owe me one for this..." Shadow muttered beneathe his breath. Still hesitant, the black hedgehog picked up the ragged Sonic up from the ground. He was covered with dirt, bruises, and bled from several different scratches.

Shadow sighed in note of it all. _I can't believe I'm doing this..._ he thought. _But what else am I going to do?_

Unfortunately for them all, this was just the beginning!


	3. Taking a Chance

**Piercing Through the Dark  
**_by 1Speak-th3-Truth_

**Chapter 3  
**Taking a Chance

Time passed and the moon slowly faded from the dawning of the sun. Darkness seemed to be a never ending foe as of last night. Terror and fear seemed to mix for the first time in Sonic the Hedgehog. Who was that mysterious enemy? What purpose did he have ruining their lives? But most importantly, why did Shadow _really _help Sonic for?

_Hope we aren't being followed. _Shadow thought hopefully. Though he he had high confidence in facing Sonic2, Sonic wasn't up for another fight just yet. In fact, he didn't look ready for anything.

_Wonder if fox-boy's awake yet. _Shadow took a deep breath. Sonic was heavier than he looked. With a pick-up of speed, the black hedgehog dashed along the deserted road. Houses with darkened rooms seemed to stare ominously at him. Even with the sun's reappearance, the houses still seemed empty. If Miles Prowler was awake, he'd know what to do. Hopefully. If not, Shadow would have to give him a wake-up call!

His feet continued to glid with slick movements, giving him a burst of speed everytime. The wind howled as it passed by the speedy hedgehog. But Shadow didn't mind it. He didn't mind anything. He and Sonic have always been different in many ways. Shadow isn't as free going as Sonic, and he probably never will be.

_So, the doctor's decided to take it up a level. I'm ready for it. I've got to be! _Shadow thought. The worry seemed to be of a pest. What was going on with him? The Ultimate Life-form could surely surpass any of the primitive mechanics that the doctor could come up with.

...

"Damn! Where is Sonic?" a red echidna shouted out from a skyscraper, overwiewing the city. He had checked at the hedgehog's house, everywhere in the city. Where else was there to look?

"Tails!"

With not a moment to lose, Knuckles the Echidna was off in search of Sonic.

Knuckles ran with a well-held spirit. He made his way through the cross-sections of the city, passing or running over anyting in his way. Pray its the first one!!

...

The sun had just began rising. Tails was sleeping in his workshop, only to have the sun light open his once closed eyes. It was days like this that Miles Prowler didn't want to wake up. There would be machines to build...machines to fix. Even though being good at it, it wasn't exactly something you could call 'fun'. For a smart fox, it was still the same headache of things going where they belong and such.

His head lay sidways along his desktop. His computer right beside him. His mouth hung open wide with drool streaming down his chin. "Can't today wait..." the fox moaned in complaint. But the sunlight just kept coming further and further inwards. Soon enough, his entire workshop was being filled up with glamorous light. His eyes slowly made an attempt to open. In a moment, Tails awoke, using his hand to clean the drool off his chin. Standing up, the little kid fox stretched, only to look over at his window sill.

On it was his most prized plant. It had beautiful, elegant flowers, even the pot looked beautiful with the plant inside of it. It reminded Tails of a wonderful friend he once knew. A friend that meant more to him than he ever realized. Cosmo. She was beautiful in every way. Though a bit on the clumsy side, Tails saw nothing wrong with clumsiness. There was nothing wrong with being clusmsy at all.

_Cosmo...I miss you._ Tails thought. He was practically beside himself. He thought of her ocassionally. But he knew, deep down in his heart, that Cosmo wouldn't want him to be sad of her absense. Rather she would prefer he'd be happy, and look to the sky with a smile, knowing that she'll always be there for him. So with that in mind, the young fox always kept his chin held high, and did his work with pride.

Tails walked over to the window sill. He looked at the plant and then to the sky before he finally smiled. _Don't worry Cosmo. One day, I'll see you again._ That thought brought an even wider grin to his face. Walking back over to his computer, the fox took a seat. The constant noise of typing sounded out.

On his computer screen, a large window appeared.

"Huh?" Tails questioned. A strange purple window popped up. But he had not wanted it to appear.

"What is this!?" Tails asked out in silence again as an Eggman Symbol appeared.

_Eggman..._ Tails frowned as a voice message stated,

"Greetings, Tails..." the message began, "sorry to drop in on you like this, but I couldn't afford to come over to see you in person. I'm far too buisy, and I'm only going to get even more buisy! As you have already figured out, the Matter Shot will nearly be completed. It's already finished, but I _could_ possibly improve it somewhat. I have finally come up with a plan to put you in your place. So WATCH YOUR STEP...TAILS!!"

It was there that the message ended. Tails had a shocked look on his face. _What is he up to, now?_ the yellow fox thought curiously. He'd definately have to tell Sonic about this. Too bad Sonic was the first to suffer!

...

Shadow the Hedgehog continued to speed down into the valley. Tails' Workshop wasn't too much farther from where he was. The only thing Shadow was truly concerned about was the strange foe he had encountered. That, and where he might be as of now.

The black hedgehog looked up to the sky. Pink and blues seemed to mix lovely. The clouds only made it more beautiful. But Shadow had no interest in beauty. What was there to be interested in. Beauty is an illusion. It can be interpreted by many different means. So why should he care? The only beautiful thing to Shadow would be the day he set his eyes on the gorgeous view of Earth from Space Colony ARK, 50 years ago, alongside Maria Robotnik.

But that was so long ago. Back when there wasn't a care to even think over. As always, things do and will change.

_Maria. _It was a thought that passed through his thoughts more frequently than anything else. Though it was a sweet thought, a little sourness mixed in, and it became a haunting word. Maria Robotnik. His old friend.

...

"Sonic!" Knuckles shouted, plowing through trees. Tails' Workshop was dead ahead. "Sonic, get out here!" The echidna stomped over until he stood before the entrance. He gritted his teeth as he launched a punch at the oak-wood door. In addition to the impact, the door flung back through the workshop, and whacked off the back wall. Unfortunately, Tails was in the middle of this collision.

"Huh?" Knuckles scratched his head in confusion. Knuckles made his way in to see a knocked out fox, and no sign of Sonic anywhere. "What? No way! If Sonic's not here, where is he?"

Tails rubbed his sore forehead, and stood up on his feet. "I was just about to ask you." said Tails.

"Oh, sorry." said Knuckles. He had finally noticed he had whacked the door into the yellow fox.

"Why do you want to find Sonic?" Tails asked curiously.

Knuckles, helped Tails pick up a few inventions that had been knocked down by the incident. "I need to tell him something important. Something bad." Knuckles explained briefly. Tails nodded in response. "So do I."

Knuckles closed his eyes and lowered his head shamefuly. "I should've stopped her when I had a chance!" Knuckles said out of nothingness. Tails just eyed him strangely. "Who the what, now?" it was clear the fox was confused.

The echidna sighed and looked away. "Rouge. She went to find Eggman days ago. But she hasn't come back yet. I tried telling her it was a bad idea to go alone...but you know Rouge, solo is her middle name!"

Tails smiled weakly. "Don't worry, Knuckles. I'm sure she's fine." Though Tails wasn't actually sure. It is highly suspicious that she hasn't returned. Then again, that's just how she has always been. After all, if she hears there's treasure somewhere, she could've taken a detour. But uncertainty rang high on both of their minds. They'd need Sonic's help to get to the bottom of this.

...

"Sonic2, come in Sonic2!" Eggman exclaimed. He was in his computer room. The huge monitor showed a rather large map of the planet. A red dot began blinking and a picture of Sonic2 appeared.

"Yes, I read you, master." the android said weakly.

"You sound weak, what happened?" Eggman asked curiously.

"Shadow...that is what happened, sir."

Dr. Eggman pounded a fist on the control panel of the computer fiercly at that name. "SHADOW!!" he yelled angrily.

"Grandfather created the Ultimate Creature for himself...but when it comes to me...his own grandson...that experiment does anything to stop me!"

Eggman then went to typing a few criptic codes into the computer mainframe. "Alright, Sonic2, I'm sending you some vital data on your next assignment. Read it thoroughly and then apply it to your mission. I'm counting on you!" Eggman said sternly. In the image shown, Sonic2 nodded.

"It will be done. I can assure you this." Sonic2 assured menacingly.

Then the image disappeared. With that, the doctor stood up and walked out of the room.

A few steps down the hall, a door slid open. The doctor made his way inside. The room held his two prisoners.

"So, ladies, enjoying the day, are we?" the doctor asked sarcastically. "No? Too bad!"

Blaze reached out her arm as far as she could from her cage to attempt an assault on the doctor. But that was far too out of reach. Eggman just looked at her with a fiendish grin. He laughed at her misfortunes before, but this was just plain humiliating. Rouge on the other hand, just hung around-no pun intended-and minded her own buisness. She saw no reason to try, as it was an impossibility.

"Just you wait, Eggman! I _will_ get out of her and you _will_ pay!" Blaze swore. She waved her fist furiously at him. It appeared the longer she was kept here, the more she grew enraged.

"Oh shut it already. We aren't getting out of here anytime soon, sweetie. So just stand there and look pretty." Rouge remarked.

Blaze hissed as her eyes began to be alit with flames. "Look pretty?! Why you...what's that supposed to mean, bat?"

"Now, now, calm down..." Eggman said in hopes of calming the two of them down.

_My, my...I never knew keeping prisoners was such hard work. Normally I'd have Bokkun do this kind of thing for me. But I haven't seen Bokkun since after the Metarex incident. Where did that pesky bothersome get to. He was with me when I sent Chris home, but then he just...flew off somewhere!_ Eggman thought immensely to himself.

_Maybe I shoudln't have disassembled those two annoyances. They could have filled in for Bokkun...huh...I'm beginning to regret my own temper._

Suddenly, a strange noise, like a toy airplane, made its faint voyage through the walls, catching the doctor's attention. "Hm?" Eggman looked up at the large window above the prisoners. A faint shadowy figure was becoming larger and larger by the second. "What in the wor-" the doctor was cut off by the shattering of glass. The bits and pieces crashed down, almost striking Eggman on the head.

Several pieces bounced off of Blaze's cage. The others hit off of the net Rouge was kept in. _Maybe, if I'm lucky, they's cut the rope. _But the pieces bounced off as feathers. Not even leaving a scratch on the rope.

"Oh come on! What in God's name is this made out of, Eggman?" the bat asked, dumbfounded.

Eggman was too busy avoiding glass.

Opening his eyes, Eggman saw what appeared to be...

"Bokkun? Bokkun, is that you?" Dr. Eggman asked in disbelief.

"Yeah...sorry I'm late, doctor, but I brought a gift for you!" Bokkun giggled, holding out a cloth bag. Eggman untied the string keeping it closed, and dumped whatever was in it, into his hand. It glowed and sparkled in beauty. It was a Chaos Emerald!

"A Chaos Emerald!? Where on Earth did you get this, Bokkun?" Eggman asked in shock.

Bokkun just laughed in happiness. He had pleased his boss.

"Well, you see..." Bokkun began, clearing his throat, "I was looking around for some kind of energy source. I had spied on Tails in his workshop, and heard about it being around the mountain range somewhere. But what do I find...well...a Chaos Emerald!"

"Yes," Eggman agreed, "and that is even _better_ than any power source in my book. Good work, Bokkun. I'm glad you're around when I need you."

Bokkun blushed. But it faded when he saw Rouge the Bat. "Ah, doctor, it's Rouge!" he exclaimed, frantically waving his arms. Eggman gave Bokkun a pat on the head and picked him up, setting him on his shoulder. "Do not worry, Bokkun. Rouge is our prisoner...she's been here quite awhile, as a matter of fact."

Suddenly, Bokkun's frigtened look changed into a grin. The small messenger pointed mockingly at the captured bat. "Ha! You had it comin' to ya, batty! Na na na na naaa!" To make matters worse, Bokkun stuck his tounge out and began making funny faces.

"Well, my friend, looks like you have things covered, here. So...keep up the good work." Dr. Eggman said encouragingly.

Bokkun nodded and gave him a solute. "Yes...of course, doctor, sir!"

The doctor nodded in approval before heading out of the room.

"NO! Don't leave me here with these two! I'll go insane!!" Blaze cried out in agony.

"Yeesh...settle down, hot-head. What's the big problem." Rouge commented.

"Yeah, quiet it down, kitty cat!" Bokkun butted in.

"AHHHH!!" she cried out again.

...

Shadow continued to carry the fainted blue hedgehog through the deserted dirt roads of the neighborhood. They were extremely close to Tails workshop. Shadow could see Tails working out in the open with the X-Tornado. Knuckles appeared to be there as well.

"Hey, fox boy!" Shadow called out.

Up on the higher ledge of the mountain, Tails heard and dropped his wrentch. He looked down off the ledge to see Shadow...and Sonic?

"Sonic!!" Tails exclaimed. Thinking quickly, the fox began twirling his tails and hovered safely down next to the two hedgehogs. "Shadow, what happened to Sonic?" Tails asked. His tone clearly showed he was concerned.

Knuckles the Echidna simply slid down the edge, landing directly behind Miles. "Whoa, what happened here?" Knuckles asked. Even though he probably wouldn't admit it, he was shocked and concerned for him too.

Shadow just huffed. He dropped Sonic and turned his back the other way. "Well don't look at me. I didn't do a thing to that faker!" Shadow wasn't a happy camper.

"I didn't say you did, Shadow." Tails pointed out.

"Yeah," Knuckles interjected, "all I want to know is how you came across him like this."

Shadow the Hedgehog just folded his arms and kept his back turned. He looked to the sky and murmured, "Eggman."

"What!?" both Tails and Knuckles exclaimed.

Knuckles pounded his fists together before firing his anger up. "Dang it! Should've known Eggman would strike while we had our backs turned. Should've kept a better eye on him!"

Tails, at the moment, didn't answer. After a while, he clentched his fist and pounded off the cliffside. "That can't be. Eggman isn't smart to take the win this easily!" Tails exclaimed.

Shadow, with his arms still folded, turned to face the fox. "You'd be suprised what that fat-happy clown can do in his spare time." Shadow said. Shadow dropped his arms down to his sides again and walked over to Knuckles. He looked down at Sonic in his dreaded state, then to the echidna. "Thing is," the black hedgehog started, "this new gadget of his. It's pretty durable, that's for sure. But it still is a good for nothing bucket of bolts. And machines can never be as strong as the original!"

"But it was, Shadow. It was as strong as Sonic, if not stronger." Tails butted in.

Shadow gave him a darring glare. But Tails wasn't moved or scared in the slightest. "Look at him, Shadow! Sonic has never gotten a beating this bad before."

Shadow looked down at the blue hedgehog again. The blood that seeped through the scratches and cuts had dried completely, stiffening the blue fur. His chest was also badly bruised. Shadow looked up at Tails again befoer closing his eyes and turning the other way around again.

"Well, that Faker was weak, anyway. Even _I _could've beaten him that senseless!" Shadow gave his most obvious excuse.

"You know that's not true!" Knuckles snapped back. He held a fist out at the black hedgehog. "Now take it back or I'll kick you so hard that you won't be able to sit for a week!!"

Shadow just shifted it to the side of his mind and payed no attention to Knuckles at all.

Tails pulled Knuckles back towards him in a quick instant. "Settle down, Knuckles. This isn't a time to be fighting."

Knuckles just folded his arms and looked the other way. "Yeah, whatever."

Tails sighed in annoyance, "Oh brother!"

...

Dr. Eggman looked out the window of his observatory area and saw the great Forgotten Canyons just outside. In fact, that is the place his fortress was built on. The Forgotten Canyons used to be a wonderful place. A place with villages and towns. But one day, the sky grew dark and the canyon rock turned gray(as it is now)and everyone disappeared. Everyone in Sonic's World has been afraid to live here ever since.

_I do not believe in such rumors. _Eggman thought constantly to himself. _Such things are a bothersome. They are not real. The logic related to them is 0. There is no use to them._

Though Eggman only thought these things to hide the fact that he to believed in the rumors. Legends have been proven correct in their world before. This made absolutely no difference. However, if these rumors were true, then he could be in deep trouble. What if he were to vanish just as the villagers once had.

Eggman just put his arms behind his back and walked down from the observatory and down into the experiment lab. This is were he'd test his inventions before he'd use them against Sonic. This is were Sonic2 had been created. So far, Sonic2 has been a hit. He has not lost his grip yet. For the first time ever, Sonic might just be overwhelmed. Things were looking up for the doctor already. Eggman just prayed it would stay this way.

The doctor walked over to a control panel. It controlled a menacing tubular confinement. A strange mystic being dwelled within it. He pressed a few buttons, causing the confinement to open wide.

"Come forth, X-01. It is time!"

X-01 was a rather large beetle. An incredibly large horn was implaced on its head. Its skin was marked by blood-red scales and tan, almost sand-like skin. When it blinked, it was clear it had four layers of eye lids.

"Bokkun, data-log, if you will." Eggman said.

The rather devious little fellow rocketed in on his jet back and took a seat next to the doctor's own chair. He typed in a few things until a summary appeared on the computer screen. He then got to reading it out loud.

"X-01. Real Identification: Reliex Blood-Beetle. The Reliex Blood-Beetle is a highly dangerous bug and animal cross-over. According to historical records, this is the very same creature of why this place became Forgotten Canyon. Only one is born ever 5 million years. It is vertually invincible, and can be controlled at full power if you obtain a..." Bokkun trailed off.

Dr. Eggman noticed his assistant had stopped and stood up. He walked over to the little guy and looked down at him.

"Well, obtain what?"

Bokkun sweatdropped at the situation and looked back at the doctor. "I'll tell you. But you won't like it, doctor." he explained. "Hm." Eggman pondered. "Tell me anyway."

His assistant nodded and continued. "It is vertually invincible and can be controlled at full power if you obtain a...hedgehog's heart."

Eggman fiendish expression suddenly changed to a disgusted one. "WHAT!!" Eggman exclaimed. "The heart of a hedgehog! Is this some kind of grizzly joke!?"

Bokkun shook his head sadly, and began reading again. "In the beginning of times, when this creature roamed with fear, hedgehogs were the only thing standing in its way. However, they were also the prey for this bettle. If you feed it a heart of a hedgehog, it will become more loyal to you."

The doctor shook his head. "I see. So, any..._hedgehogs..._we'd like to donate?" Eggman nudged his shoulder.

Bokkun nodded with the same evil grin.

"Sonic the Hedgehog!!" they both exclaimed.

...

Shadow had followed Knuckles and Tails up to the workshop, and laid Sonic on Tails' bed to rest. The black hedgehog did not show concern for Sonic at all. He merely starred out from the window, overhearing both Knuckles and Tails speaking of something ominous or something rather.

"I don't know what could've happened, Knuckles. What could've happened to get Sonic beaten up this badly?" Shadow overheard Tails.

"I'm tellin' ya. It had to be that Shadow." Knuckles had replied.

"Well, I have to admit it, Shadow _is_ a bit stronger than Sonic."

"Yeah, and maybe _faster_ than Sonic too."

"So what? You think he tricked Sonic or something?"

Shadow couldn't take this secret conversation of himself any longer. It angered him. He didn't do it. In fact, if it hadn't been for him, Sonic could've really been dead.

"NO!! I didn't lay a single punch on him! You should be thanking me!" Shadow snapped from pressure.

Tails and Knuckles looked over at him with shocked faces. Scared faces. Shadow passed on a glare even more cold and icy than the last one he had given towards them. Tails gulped and Knuckles looked embarrassed. They hadn't intended on Shadow to overhear them.

"You heard?" Tails asked, knowing the answer.

"Yeah, I heard you. Kind of hard not to. You really should learn to whisper...'cause trying to keep things quiet and unknown is not quite your thing, fox boy!" Shadow mocked, looking out the window again. The sun was higher than ever. Making Shadow wonder what he really was doing. Why was he here?

Tails frowned in response to Shadow's tone. It was definately not Shadow's day. The Ultimate Life-form looked around from the window. Then, to the sky. A large puffy cloud passed by. To his suprise, it looked like..."Maria..." Shadow sighed. This made Tails wonder even more about Shadow. But his past was his past. He would never share something as priceless as that to a mere fox. Would he?

...

"Prepearations are set, doctor. Beginning operation now!" Bokkun announced. The little devil stood at the very top pillar of a launching site. He watched as a rocket began to rise, being pointed up at the sky.

"Excellent. Soon, this rocket will enter the planet's atmosphere, heating what's _inside_ the rocket, to charge its internal energy source." Eggman explained. The doctor then picked up a clipboard with a paper indicating a checklist of somesort. It wasn't exactly clear what the doctor was planning. But it couldn't possibly bring any good to the world.

"Bokkun, is the guidance system online?" Eggman asked.

Bokkun nodded with a serious look, "Yes. All systems go. We can safely guide it to this exact spot when the energy has been gathered."

Eggman merely nodded and looked out into the distant canyons. The rocks were as gray as ever. Something seemed ominous about them. As if they were...hiding something. Though he didn't like to admit it, Eggman was sheepish around these ancient disasters. There's no telling if it could possibly happen again. If the Reliex were to obtain its old memory (the doctor erased its original), he and Bokkun would be doomed.

This is the exact reason why Eggman had placed a brain-stem collar on it. This collar allowed him to control it, for now. He'd have to find a stronger source of control...the heart of his arch-enemy.

"Alright, Bokkun!" Eggman shouted out, pointing his finger up to the sky. "Let's get this operation going! Prepare to launch!"

"Yes, Eggman, sir. Beginning launch sequence." Bokkun replied, pressing a button with the word 'launch' on it.

Eggman laughed on and on, just thinking about killing Sonic at last. He laughed so loud, anyone around could hear. Unfortunately, the only ones that knew were imprisoned.

...

Darkness. Such a familiar sight. When you close your eyes, when the sun sets, when the moon fades, when we think of greed, when we think of evil. Darkness exists even in day, forever at night. But now darkness faded as eyelids began to open.

Shadowy figures in the distance became more and more clear. One was getting closer. Faint words were whispered, or so that's how distant his hearing was. The blue hedgehog panted heavily, making out the words.

"He's getting...Knuck...he's...up." the distant voice called. The figure began looking much like a fox.

_T-Tails..._ Sonic thought. For a moment, even Sonic himself thought he would be dead. What happened? How did he survive. It was then, in his spare time, Sonic attempted to remember what had happened fornight ago.

_"...why...are you...helping me...Shadow?"_

_"'Cause, if anyone's going to mess with you, it outta be me. Not some cheap bucket of bolts!"_

_Sha-Shadow..._ his thoughts were still foggy. But the figures were almost as clear as day itself. He saw a red echidna approach. A white glove held out. As if to grab him from his daydreaming trance. _Knuck...les..._ Sonic continued to regain his stature. In a quick instant, he grabbed onto the echidna's hand and sat up off the bed.

The blue hedgehog rubbed his head where it was sore. The yellow fox before him handed him a glass of lemonaid. "Here, Sonic. You must be thirsty." Sonic didn't nod nor answer. He only grabbed the glass and gulped it down quickly. With a sigh, he stood up and looked around.

"Oh...my head. Tails, what's...what's going on?" Sonic said weakly, as if shuddering from bitter cold.

While this was gonig on, Knuckles went on a detour out back.

Tails gave him a grin and opened up some more windows to let more light through. Sonic was confused. One moment he's at his house in an impossible battle against an imposter pretending to be him! What was behind all this madness? And how could he end it?

Tails was about to answer when Shadow shoved him out of the way and stood face to face with Sonic.

"Well, glad to see you're awake." Shadow said. His tone was almost sarcastic.

"Sh...adow. What's going on? Why do I feel so weak? How did I get here? What happened back there?" Sonic shot out questions like a machine gun. Shadow forced his palm against the blue hedgehog's face to silence him. Sonic ceased to speak for the moment, and Shadow removed his palm from the hedgehog.

"You were knocked out from that battle with the androd. You were on the verge of death. So I rushed you here." Shadow explained emotionlessly.

Sonic smiled, "I knew you were...our...f-friend Shadow!" Sonic exclaimed as happily as he could. But he was still too weak to do anything intense for now.

"Hmf! I merely made sure you weren't eliminated in such a pathetic state. You couldn't even stand up to that nut-job!" Shadow mocked. The black hedgehog's red eyes glared angrily into the green eyes that looked upon him. Then, in no time at all, the red eyes concealed themselves behind eyelids, and do not face Sonic for much longer. The Ultimate Life-form walked over to the door of the workshop.

"Just make sure you don't get yourself killed, Sonic! 'Cause next time, you may not be so lucky!" With that, Shadow dashed off down the cliffside and down through the valley. He was plain out of sight.

For a few moments, Sonic starred out the window. Just wondering where Shadow went on his own. But the pain intensified. Sonic grabbed his hip in horrifying pain, and collapsed down onto the bed.

"What's going on?" Knuckles asked, returning from his detour.

"Shadow left and Sonic's in pain." Tails answered quickly, tending to his best friend.

Knuckles also began to react quickly. The echidna grabbed a towel from one of the chairs and placed it over the hedgehog's forehead. "I think he just needs some rest." said Knuckles. Tails nodded and applied pressure to the towel to soak up the pain in Sonic's forehead.

"I think you're right." Tails agreed.

Together, the echidna and fox carred for the hero that had saved _them _so many times. At last they were returning the favor. Hopefully they would be able to get Sonic back on his feet. They'd have to risk their lives to save him if they needed to.

They'd be taking a chance. It was a chance they had to take.


	4. Always Expect the Unexpected

**Piercing Through the Dark  
**_by 1Speak-th3-Truth_

**Chapter 4  
**Always Expect the Unexpected

Spring was such a lovely season. Birds were chirping. The flowers were blooming. This was Amy Rose's favorite and most appreciated season. It was times like this that she wished Sonic would enjoy these things with her rather than racing off somewhere. It's always been like that and she was beginning to feel more lonely than ever. To her suprise, spring flowers always made her feel better, even if she said nothing would.

The park gazebo was her place. There she sat on a bench, which was covered by an archetectual masterpiece. It provided a cool setting that kissed you on your skin, welcoming you to fall lazily into a nap. To dream wonders. But Amy wouldn't. She merely watched the pedals of flowers begin to blossom and their stems blowing in the cool breeze.

_Oh Sonic. Why do you never stop by? I miss you._ Amy thought sadly. With a sigh and with a doubt, the pink hedgehog walked up and walked down the steps from the gazebo and onto the brick layered path. The fountain seemed to be less beautiful today. The waters splashing from top to bottom and its impressive archetecture couldn't change the fact that she was completely lonely.

So, trying to collect herself, the pink hedgehog starred down into the rippling waters. Her reflection distorted. But it was true. She was distorted. She was a wreck. Perhaps it was time to face facts. Sonic was not interested in her. He never would be. It was then and there that Amy realized something. Cream had once said that Sonic was like the wind. So she starred up to the sky and frowned. How could she have taken so long to realize that she was trying to chase the wind?

She knelt down to the ground underneath an oak tree. She picked up a colored leaf that had fallen to the ground quite some time ago. Just as it had been so long since Sonic had last spoken to her. Why was life so unfair? It seemed all the rest of the world was becoming successful in everything that was done. But when it came to her, she was still stuck on square one-relationship wise, that is. Sometimes she could get so angry at Sonic. Angry for him ignoring her, not asking her out, not mentioning thing to her that she'd want to know about. But no matter what the reason, she always came to the sense that she still loved him just the same. And that nothing could change that fact.

_But now I see,_ Amy thought, crumbling the leaf in her hands as she stood. _he doesn't care about me. He never will._

A tear fell from her eyes and landed next to her foot, bringing moisture to the ground. A relationship with Sonic, was like trying to chase the wind. It was impossible.

The crumbled pieces of the leaf blew with the wind and out from her palm. Her hair blew back with the breeze.

Amy sighed as she continued her walk. She was a few steps out of the park when all of a sudden, she heard strange mechanical noises. Sort of like the repairing of a car or something. So very strange.

An alley way was next to the central park. The pink hedgehog hesitantly walked down into it. As she did the noises became louder and louder. She had to be getting closer. But one question still lingered deep in her mind. She figured out where the noise was coming from. However, what was making that noise was still a mystery.

Amy pushed a trash can out of her way. Behind it was...Sonic? Is that possible? Something seemed different about him. But at the moment, Amy didn't really care about that.

"Sonic? Oh, Sonic, are you hurt?" a concerned Amy asked.

The figure stood at its full height and looked at her. He seemed more like an omen now rather than the Sonic she loved.

"You? Who are you? Please regaurd your identification. Reguard your state of buisness." the androidic voice said. Amy was confused. She stepped back in fear only to trip over a trash can lid. She fell to the ground and looked up behind her to see the figure above her.

"S-Stay back. I'm warning you!" her threat was empty though. No reason to fight. She wasn't looking for one, after all.

"You are trespassing. You are a spy. You _will_ be assimilated!" the mechanical menace began to step foward, not even thinking of what to do next. Repairs had not yet been completed.

"W-What? Me?? A spy!!" Amy was in total disbelief. She had merely heard something and went to find out what it was. She didn't intentionally want to drop in on something uninvited.

The android held out a wrist blaster and aimed carefully at her forehead. Amy was frozen in fear. In fear of pain and in fear of death. The wrist blaster began charging with energy. Amy attempted in this moment to escape. But her courage failed her and in a burst of flashing light...there was nothing. Nothing...nothing...at all.

...

Shadow the Hedgehog stood firmly amongst the stone pillars of the great mountain range. The windy day made peering down unto the peaceful world below him harder to accomplish. Yet, Shadow wasn't there for sightseeing. Rather he was thinking of that good for nothing android that looked like Sonic. Shadow was beginning to wonder what Eggman was really up to.

There was the weapon that Tails' mentioned awhile back. Then there was the android...after Sonic at night? It didn't make quite as much sense as Eggman's plans would usually do. It was always like there was a reason for what Eggman was doing. He'd always drop in on Sonic and co. Then he'd present himself alongside his robotic creation. But Eggman didn't show. Where was he? By the looks of things, Eggman was beginning to wise up. Rather than being so highly opinionate of himself, he was focusing on his goals. He was making sure take everyone out one by one.

It was then that a deep dark thought crossed in Shadow's mind. If Eggman really was going for each and every one of them, then who would he take...or try to take out? That's when Shadow's eyes went wide. They turned to the faint faraway central park down from the mountains. "Amy!" Shadow exclaimed outloud. There wasn't time to let Sonic know. There just wasn't enough time.

The black hedgehog leapt from the pillar and dashed down alongside the mountain. He blasted through forest after forest until finally haulting in central park. But there was no sign of Amy anywhere for as much as he could see.

The sprinkling of the fountain waters sounded more faint than usual. They were usually more peaceful to the mind. Something was going on.

"Somethings not right. Somethings wrong...very wrong." Shadow muttered beneath his breath. The black hedgehog looked around.

_Maybe someone's seen her._ Shadow thought cleverly. It was worth a shot.

A grey cat was walking around the park fence. He held a rake and was caretaking the perimeter with joyful care. He was apparently the park caretaker. He HAD to have seen something out of the ordinary.

"You...over there..." Shadow called out. The grey cat looked up from his work and walked over to the black hedgehog.

"What can I do for you, son?" His gray fur was stained with dirt and weeds of all his hard work. He was very lean and tall. He was crippled and old, but there was something enlightening about him. Something even Shadow couldn't make out. He set his rake down beside a bench. The two sat down to have a meaningful chat.

"Why no, no I didn't see anythin' unusual 'bout the place t'day." the old timer said with a weak smile. "But if ya lookin' for someone...lady friend to be 'xact, then I guess I could helps ya!" he said with a crackling laugh.

"A pink hedgehog perhaps?" Shadow questioned with a raised brow. The old caretaker nodded as he stood. He picked up a rake, and began to return to his work. While he continued, he looked up at Shadow. "Left the park few minutes ago...hasn't come back 'ere since."

"Which way?"

The caretaker pointed out the west-end gate, then two the large building right outside.

Shadow gave a sly smile to show thanks, then he headed over and out through the west gate. The building before him was rather impressive. For being so old, it was being used quite often. It was used to write the daily newspaper. People there were proud of their work. They always got the news right down to the facts. Never had they been wrong in all their years of buisness.

_Strange. _Shadow thought. _Why would Amy come here...unless._ It hit Shadow when he never could've thought of it. _She never went inside!_ Shadow concluded. He looked left, then right. On the left, there was no where else she could've gone. On the right however, the Ultimate Life-form spotted an alley way. An ominous feeling aroused from the entrance. A terrible smell...like iron was ligering around the trash cans.

"What a dump." Shadow mumbled in disgust.

It was then the black hedgehog noticed something. Shadow knelt down closer to the city pavement. But it wan't black. It was stained. Shadow smirred a finger on the damp ground, raised it to his nose and sniffed. "Blood." said Shadow. His heart rate began to beat faster.

Shadow pushed the tumbled trash cans to the side to move ahead. But it was all too soon that he came to a hault. He was frozen in his tracks. It was...

"AMY!!" Shadow exclaimed. He was right. Eggman _was_ after them one at a time.

Amy lay distortedly on the ground. Her dress and boots stained with her own blood. Shadow was too late. Or was he? "Amy?" the black hedgehog, not panicing whatsoever, picked her up to check for a pulse. There was a pulse in deed. But it was weak. She needed a hospital. And fast!

Shadow disliked her in a way, but ever since the Metarex, he had come to be friends with her, Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles. Sure they had a few trust problems because of their differences. But that was understandable. This was starting to get out of hand. First Sonic, then Amy, who next?

The black hedgehog lifted her up off the bloodstained ground and rushed towards the Downtown Hospital.

...

The shadowy room provided no real light. The desiring flames surely died out by now. Confidence failing. The steel walls and titanium locked door made it feel like a prison. A prison in Hell. The annoyance of the rowdy pest. The annoyance of the batty brat. Sanity slipping through her fingers. Sorrow nearly swallong her whole. Even her flames could not help her now. It was Hell for sure.

Blaze the Cat sat cross legged in the center of her cage, trying to hold onto what sanity she could still reach. But she knew she couldn't stand this for much longer or she'd surely go mad.

The purple cat closed her deep yellow eyes and tried to think...think of what it used to be like. The adventures she had. The friends she had made. That's when she remembered the great hero she had met twice before. _Sonic._ that thought suddenly brought back hope. Even when hope was scarce.

_Sonic, hurry..._

...

Blackness slowly turned to light. Strength returned, health revived, and hope secured. It was the beginning of a new day. The blue hedgehog looked out the window and remembered...he was in Tails' Workshop. He had not seen Shadow since he had last passed out. But then he remembered. Tails had been there too. But, where was he now. Sonic scanned briefly of everything around him. Still no sign of Tails anywhere.

Suddenly, the front door opened, making Sonic jump into a fighting stance. To his relief, it was just little ole' Tails. The yellow fox looked straight at him with a smile. "Hey, Sonic!" the fox greeted in a cheerful manner. "Looks like you're up and running again, huh?"

Sonic nodded with a smile. "Yeah. About time, too, don't you think?" the blue hedgehog said as he hopped up onto the sofa while Tails took a seat at his computer. The yellow fox got right to work. Sonic looked back behind the sofa to see what his best friend was up to. "So, Tails...what ya up to lately?" Sonic asked curiously.

Tails just looked back at him with a wide grin. "Trying to find out what Eggman's up to."

"Well we know one thing," Sonic began.

"What's that, Sonic?"

"It's definately not good."

...

"Do not worry. She is in good hands." a doctor assured Shadow as he stepped out into the waiting room. "That's good." Shadow said almost emotionlessly.

"We'll run some tests and see what more we can do for her." the doctor said calmly.

Shadow nodded in response as he left the hospital.

The sun was high in the afternoon now. The streets were bustling with buisness and tourists. All kinds of people crowded the sidewalks of the city. Shadow looked around. He was beginning to worry. Just what was Eggman thinking. Plotting their defeat is one thing. Killing them off is another.

Shadow stood high on a skyscraper when he heard it,

"Why hello there, Shadow."

That voice. Shadow's face instantly changed its expression into a glare. The black hedgehog looked behind him to see Bokkun carrying a TV screen. Eggman most be broadcasting himself so he wouldn't have to meet him in person.

"Doctor. What sick plot have you got up your sleves this time!?" Shadow scolded bitterly. His growing hatred for Eggman was beginning to cross over the line. He felt as if he could just reach through that TV and silence him once and for all. But he knew better. It was just a TV.

"Now, now, Shadow. Let us not get hasty here. I believe you've met my latest creation...an android to be exact."

"I knew it! I KNEW you were the scumbag behind that damn attack that rendered Sonic unconsiouse. You freak!" the Ultimate Life-form snapped in a fury of rage.

"His name is Sonc2. He is to be Sonic's replacement once I do away with that vermin! You understand, don't you, Shadow?" Eggman questioned sarcastically.

Shadow gritted his teeth. Never had he felt so much hatred for a single being. But Eggman was an exceptional enemy. He was an annoyance and a pest at that. Why couldn't he just give up before any of this had to happen? It was just simply maddening.

"HO HO! I see you're speechless, well...just make sure you don't let any rabbit get...ah...CREAMED!"

"W-What? Cream!!" Shadow was dumbfounded. She was just a kid.

"Boy, doctor, that wasn't exactly the best evil speech I ever heard." Bokkun commented. "Sounded kinda cheesey if you ask me."

"Well I didn't ask you! Now get back here. Our message has been delivered."

"Yes doctor."

Bokkun put the TV back into his box before jetting back through the city skyline.

_What? No explosion this time, Bokkun?_ Shadow thought with a huff. But as for now, there were more important matters to see through. Shadow wasn't going to let some stupid robot to harm a kid. That was just a cruel tactic to a plot. Cream had never done anything to deserve a fate Eggman had planned for her.

In a burst of speed, Shadow rushed off out of the city and into the forest. "Cream's house has to be somewhere on the other side." Shadow thought. He knew the dividing line. The Great Forest divided the village dwellers from the big city. But there was no time to take it easy. Lives were at stake now. Things have changed.

_Eggman, you good for nothing bastard!_ Shadow thought in total disgust. Passing large trees as he went, made sure he didn't trip on a log. With a solid leap, the hedgehog dashed from tree branch to tree branch at a lighting pace.

If Cream was being targeted by Dr. Eggman, then there was a good chance that Vanilla was also in great danger. It was times like this that Shadow wished Maria Robotnik was still alive. But of course, that was an impossibility. But Shadow knew one thing he had to do for sure. And that was to fullfill and keep his promise to his friend. Maria.

_I will NOT let you torment the innocent, doctor. Or so help me, there'll be hell to pay!_ Shadow snarrled in his thoughts. When he was first released from suspended animation, he had been honorable and trustworthy in the doctor's eyes. He listened and obeyed any request Eggman threw his way. However, as time past, Shadow began to realize what Chris had said was true. Eggman was just using him to get what he wanted. After the Metarex, Shadow no longer listened to the doctor, and has been against him ever since.

Shadow haulted in one of the many oak trees of the forest barrier. He stood as a lookout, piering at every environment he could get his sights on. The sun beamed down on him, making it humid. Shadow looked out across from the branch in which he was perched. There he saw it. The peaceful homes of many creatures was within sight. Shadow hurried along from the tree, leaping once more from branch to branch, trunk to trunck. The blue sky swirled as if in a vortex at the speed in which he manuvered.

The Ultimate Life-form suddenly stopped again. This time from a sound. The sound of...machineary? But there couldn't be any machines in the forest, could there?

Shadow slowed up his pace, now walking. The black hedgehog quickly concealed himself behind a tree, noticing the sound was as close as ever. He turned his head to look from the side of the tree. A river flowed down from the hill in which he set his sights on. But atop of the hill, actually on the water, was a shadowy figure. One so maniacle that it was frightening. So evil that it brought back memories...it was that confounded android.

"I know you are there, Shadow the Hedgehog. Surrender for you are inferior compared to I." Sonic2 called out.

Shadow heart began racing faster than his own feet. Sweat dripped from his forehead, dampening his fur. He looked back behind his tree again to see the figure jump down and land right in front of his tree, on the other side of course.

Normally Shadow didn't mind any enemy seeing them only as a mere workout. But this android. This, thing. He couldn't even predict what was up his sleve.

"Well, nice to see you again. Need any oil changes lately? Oh, that's right, you're already a piece of shit! How could a spot of oil every fix that!" Shadow held out a fist. Rage was beginning to get the better of him.

Sonic2 didn't react. He didn't even answer with the slightest of signs. He merely cocked his head to the side. The android then held out his hand as it began to glow with force and power. A beam was shot from his palm. Luckily, Shadow ducked, only to have the beam smash the tree behind him into dust. The tree, what was left of it, collided into several other trees, causing their collision with other trees.

Dust from the debres caused Shadow to cough and hack. Sonic2 just stood and watched his opponent choke. "What is the matter? Can you not handle such a small obsticle like dust?" Sonic2 asked emotionlessly.

Shadow used his hand to fan the dust away. "Chaos Spear!" Shadow exclaimed. The black hedgehog sent out numerous beams of light that shot directly at the android before him. Sonic2 didn't move. He was hit full force and yet he didn't take even a scratch.

Sonic2 charged at him with full power. He ramed Shadow into the stoney cliffside of the hill. The river right next to him on the left side.

_Damnit! Eggman must've tuned him up since last time. Now what?_ Shadow thought. But his time to think was small before a punch across his head caused him to fall to the ground. The ground was muddy and it reeked. His fur now covered in it, Shadow stood to his feet again. "I don't know who you are or what you are, you're going down, rusty!" Shadow spat at him.

"Do not waste my time," Sonic2 began as he walked away from his weakened foe.

"What? No guts, droid?"

"you are not a worthy opponent. Besides, I have more important matters to attend to." the android had a jetpack expand from his back units and blasted off into the blue sky, leaving only the ruined archer of forest, and the wounded Shadow. Other than that, he left without a trace.

_Cream..._ Shadow remembered. With what energy he could now afford to use, he used it. He sped along the last few achers of forest and finally reached his destination in the nick of time.

When he arrived, Vanilla was attending to the garden. She seemed to be removing weeds from the carrots and tomatos. Above her was a clothes line. Cream's favorite bathing suite and dress hung in the breeze as they dried naturally.

"Mrs. Vanilla!" Shadow called out. The aged rabbit looked up to see Shadow run towards her until he stopped right in front of her garden.

"Why, Shadow. What brings _you_ here, dear?" Vanilla asked with a smile on her face. But Shadow knew this wasn't for a happy visit. Vanilla and Cream were both doomed unless Shadow could protect him. If that android got even stronger than last time, Shadow was worried-for the first time-that it would be even stronger the next time he met with it. And still the question lingered in his mind. What was that thing doing?

"Mrs. Vanilla, there's no time to waste, we have to get you out of here!" Shadow said in a rushed tone.

"Now why would that be?" she asked peacefully.

...

"Bokkun, has the rocket reached orbit yet?" Eggman asked, sitting at his magestic chair in the computer control room.

His naughty little assistant, Bokkun nodded. "Yep. Already to go!"

"HO!" Eggman chuckled as he looked to the monitors. "Everything's going as planned. And there hasn't been even one interferance from that pesky little hedgehog!" Eggman was almost beside himself in joy to know Sonic wasn't around to ruin his plans. It was just like a dream come true.

Eggman keyed a few passwords on the holopad to the side of his chair. It brought up an additional window on the main computer monitor.

It read:

_Orbital Control_

_The controls to SP12-03 have been linked to the wireless reciever. However, interferance from space debres could cause erros en route to the reciever. Would you like to upgrade reciever to 10.08 degree ratio?_

_Yes or No?_

Eggman keyed in 'yes'.

_Orbital Control_

_Now upgrading reciever... Do not order commands until upgrade is complete..._

_Please Standby..._

_Error! Could not upgrade reciever. _

"What?!" Eggman asked. He apparently was baffled. Hadn't he done everything right?

He typed in: _Error Report Status..._

_Error Report_

_The reciever may have taken damage. The action you attempted can not be conducted until repairs have been completed to sector 4-2 of the reciever. Androdic state is constant and the droid has been unharmed. However, in this state, the rocket can not transform into mech droid mode. _

_It is highly recommended that you begin repairs immediately. For its shields are also inactive at this point. Repairs should take nearly 30-45 minutes._

_Begin repairs now?_

_Yes or No_

Eggman huffed. As much as he hated waiting, it seemed he had no other choice. If the shield was inactive at tthis point, then it could not possible get Sonic down. "Fine, then." Eggman said. He keyed in 'yes' and repairs began on the international reciever for his commands.

"Hey, Eggman," Bokkun began, flying up to his boss.

"Yes, Bokkun? What is it?"

"I was just wondering, why did you have to send that thingy into space anyway?"

Eggman grew a large grin on his face. "HO! HO! HO! I thought you'd never ask. You see, this android requires an enormous amount of energy. Energy that is impossible to obtain on this planet. The stars give off this kind of immense power. So why not space? I can't think of a better way to charge this thing's battery. Can you?"

Bokkun shook his head no. "Wow! You are a genius!"

"Why thank you. Now, to more important matters. What's Sonic2 up to?" the doctor asked his assistant lively. His assistant flew back to his seat and typed up another few things on the computer to bring up a screen of Sonic2. He was at central park, under the gazebo.

"Ah, Sonic2! How has your mission been going?" Eggman asked curiously.

"It has been well for me, doctor. I can assure you, Sonic will be dead by the end of this week."

"What!? This week!? Why not now!?"

"Patience, doctor. It is impatience that leads to one's downfall. To defeat your enemy, you must first observe them. Learn who they are, what they do, and most importantly, what they are weak against." the android noted.

Eggman put his finger to his chin in thought. "I see. You are very wise, Sonic2. Keep up the good work."

Right before the doctor could turn off communications, the android burst out, "Wait!" Eggman stopped his finger from punching the command in. Dr. Eggman was wondering what this was about. "Shadow, sir. He attempted to stop me from reaching those two rabbits and their homestead. Unfortunately, I would believe him to be guarding that facility by now. I will be wasting my time, however. As I could defeat him easily. However, I wish to know what you want me to do." Sonic2 explained.

Eggman nodded. "Shadow, you say?" The android nodded on screen. Eggman thought carefully, gripping the ends of the arms of his chair. He didn't want to be his own demise like previous encounters such as these. "Avoid Shadow for now, Sonic2. You have a mission to complete. He's trying to get your eyes off of the ball. But don't listen to him, I'm sending you more data to confirm this information."

Sonic2 nodded. "Yes sir. I shall not fail you."

...

"Eggman? What would Eggman want with me or my precious Cream?" Vanilla asked confused.

She sat comfortabley on her recliner and grasped a coffee cup from the coffee table next to her and took a sip. Shadow sat on the opposite side as her and sat on the sofa placed before a window. Vanilla's expression showed it all. Uncertainty. The aged rabbit looked to the empty staircase, knowing Cream was up there. Shadow knew Vanilla was worried more about her daughter rather than her own well being.

Shadow sighed deeply beforing going on. "I think he's trying to pick us off one at a time." His words made Vanilla hastely take another sip of her tea. The cup shook as she began putting it back down.

"But why us? We've never done anything to that brute."

Shadow nodded. They were right, of course, but Shadow highly doubted that would change that madman's mind.

...

Knuckles ran through the canyon's. It was getting late as the canyon rock began turning yellowish orange from the setting sun. Suddenly, all the rock turned gray. Seemingly untouched by the sun. The wind stopped and chills ran down his spine. As a treasure hunter, Knuckles knew exactly were he was.

"The Forgotten Canyons..." Knuckles murmured. This was said to be unholy ground. Dead souls wherever you were. Even God seemed to have forsaken it. No life anywhere exluding himself.

"Eggman's new base...it's here...I can feel it!"

Knuckles ran up to a steep canyon wall. He pounded his fist firmly in place, indending into the wall. He did this to climb up quickly onto the cliffside only to find exactly what he was looking for. Impressive steel doors with Eggman's symblol on it. His guess was right on the money. But one thing still puzzled him. Why would Eggman want to have his base put here? This land had no resources. Or did it?

...

Blaze lay in almost a feetle position, wondering what was going on in her world. Why was she sent here? Nega had said something about the invention thing he and the original Eggman used to all-in-all their status. But why her? Her world needed her more than ever. Everything was falling apart. The sunlight that crisply shone on her silky lavender fur faded until it could no longer be seen. Nightfall was near...nightfall was here.

The night would be nothing but tourture, though. Rouge would talk in her sleep about jewelery and such. Bokkun would snore. Dr. Eggman would constantly keep coming in to check on his prisoners. Worst of all, her thoughts would have her worked up all night long. Once again, a sleepless night for a lone lost cat.

_Well, Sonic. Now would be the perfect time._ Blaze thought, not wanting to give up hope.


	5. Nightfall

**Piercing Through the Dark  
**_by 1Speak-th3-Truth_

**Chapter 5**  
Nightfall

The sun slowly faded away until it disappeared from view. The orange lands now blanked purple lay stained in darkness until next morn. Tyranny and lies seemed to blacken the terrain more, the land in thick coats of dust. Dreams decending. The moon shining down on the lands. Twas since the beginning that creatures have wondered of the universe. The stars-each one holding its own mystery. Just waiting to be told of. But now the stars seemed to disappear. Just as the sun had escaped from the sky. The magestic feeling of the night had been poisoned and tainted by violence and destruction. Courtesy of Sonc2. (Who COULD'VE guessed!!)

"Shh, come on." Shadow whispered through the inky blackness of the forest. Two innocent rabbits followed him. One named Vanilla, the other Cream. Both scared and confused, followed Shadow without hesitation. For they knew that their home wasn't safe anymore. That android would rip them into shreds if he found them.

The darkened trees looked as if glarring. Cream looked about, her imagination of a child kicking in. The trees...they starred at her, laughed at her like they were goblins and ghouls. Their branches...hands, trying to grab her. Owls...monsters of the night sky, looking at her as if she was their prey. The wind that blew past her felt strange and chillful. An omen of some sort. The ground was damp with dew.

The black hedgehog led the rabbits through a hidden forest path. This path could never be caught in the sight of any sattelite. So Sonic2 wouldn't be able to track them here, hopefully. The hedgehog looked around, then haulted. He motioned a hand in front of Vanilla who carried Cream. The two of them stopped as well.

"Mom, I'm scared." Cream whispered out of fear. Vanilla kissed her child on the head and patted her ears down. "Don't worry, Cream. Shadow's taking good care of us." Those words began to make Cream feel better. But she couldn't escape the fear of the night time ghouls. If they were real. If they weren't just her imagination. She hoped Shadow would be there to protect her. Same for her mother.

...

"Amy? Amy are you there?" Sonic asked as he knocked her door several times. But he had yet to receive an answer. Was she sleeping already? It was only 10:00pm. Sonic didn't know Amy to go to bed so early. At least not for another 30 minutes. Either she felt sleepy, or something was up. But what? First thing's first. He'd have to get in and see if she was there. Of course, the door was locked, so, time for plan B!

Sonic stepped back a few feet, readied up his energy, then dashed at full speed into the door. CRASH!! His impact impaled the door inwards and caused it to fly into the kitchen.

"Oh shit! Amy's gonna kill me for that...err..." Sonic sweatdropped. Hopefully when she did get mad, she wouldn't have her hammer with her. But like _that_ would ever happen.

The house was dark. No one was here. Sonic walked up the staircase, a creak escaped the wood every time he moved his feet upward from the wood and back onto it. The walls seemed invisible. So did the ceiling and the floor. In front of him it was dark, to the side of him it was dark. Darkness all around him. Improvising, the blue hedgehog motioned his hands around, feeling for one wall from the other. Amy's room was to the left right from the staircase, so Sonic was pretty sure he went the right way.

Suddenly, the hedgehog felt something on the wall. "Hey, a light switch!" Sonic whispered. Though it was a pretty loud whisper. He pushed up on the switch and the darkness disappeared. He could see the tan walls, white ceiling, and the brown wooden floors. "Now that's much better."

More along the lines of his objective, Sonic walked toward Amy's room. Strange enough, the door wasn't locked or even shut. So he pushed the door and made another kind of creaking noise as it opened. The room was dark, but was lit partially by the hallways's light. Sonic went over to the bed and noticed that Amy wasn't there. With that, Sonic zoomed out of the house, turning off the light and _trying_ to fix the door.

But it slowly fell back down to the ground. "Shit! Amy's gonna kill me for sure...I'll worry about it later though." Sonic slapped his own forehead. _Maybe I shouldn't of overreacted about the whole 'break-in' thing._ the hedgehog thought to himself, probably right about it.

...

_Reapairs Completed_

_Beginning charge..._

_Beginning mech tests..._

_Beginning interface tests..._

_Beginning combat tests..._

_Beginning receiver tests..._

_All system tests are online in perfect condition._

Eggman smiled. His eyes were crusty from staying up for so long. But he couldn't sleep from a kind of insomnia known as stress. The doctor was stressful towards Sonic. Whether it took him a few days, or just a few minutes, Sonic was always getting in the way of his plans. Things seemed to be different this time around, however. Sonic had not ruined anything yet. But Eggman refused to let his guard down or get cocky. He'd celebrate when Sonic finally had life leave his eyes. Only then would Eggman be truly feel accomplished.

He had designed this computer room to have a large window on the right side. An impressive steel entrance way on the left. And of course, all of the computer monitors, small control panels run by Bokkun, and the main monitor controlled by Eggman's keyboard on the side of his chair, litterally connected to it. Eggman typed in 'Notify when charge is complete'.

Suddenly, all went black. Eggman had fallen asleep.

...

"Data downloading..." Sonic2 said in a low tone. He spied down at a red echidna familiar to us all. Knuckles.

Knuckles had the feeling he was beign watched. He looked left and right at all the naturally formed landscapes. But he couldn't get rid of the feeling. Someone was ready to ambush him. Knuckles quickly switched into a fighting stance, ready to bash a skull or two. Little did he know Sonic two used a cloaking device to hide at a high peak...the roof of Eggman's base. The android...just as Knuckles would expect as someone...wouldn't want him getting in. There had to be another way in rather than the main entrance.

"Data confirmed. New log entry. Subject, Knuckles the Echidna.

Sex: Male  
Age: 16-17  
Strength Points: Power, subtle speed.  
Weaknesses: anger management, low priority brain

Known factors: Still searching...  
State of buisness: unverified..."

Sonic2 mumbled in a low voice to himself.

"This place gives me the creeps." Knuckles said quietly amongst himself.

Sonic2 stayed in the same squat position, eyeing up a target. He could not allow someone to stop his master's plans. After all, things were going so well for the both of them.

...

The crescant moon illuminated scarcely among the toppled forests. The path seemed as dark as the night sky. Tree roots picking at their feet, wanting them to trip. The dirt was moist, making it sort of muddy. It stained Shadow and Vanilla's shoes as they continued on their trek away from oblivion. Cream asleep in her mother's arms, hugged graciously on the soft arm of Vanilla. Vanilla wished she could dream as well. But as for now, she had to follow Shadow. And she was pretty sure that Shadow didn't intend on sleeping at all. They would walk...walk all night-long if they had to.

"Shadow, I'm still confused. Why must we travel in these conditions?" Vanilla asked in her usual calm voice.

Shadow stopped in response to her question. He looked to the back of him and eyed her. "Its either rough conditions, or a rough life...by which I mean you're dead."

His statement brought a cold feeling to her heart. She felt as if stoned in her own ignorance. This couldn't possibly be as bad as being dead. Rather than arguing, she should be considerably greatful that Shadow would risk his own life to save another. Why? 'Cause he doesn't do it very much.

The aged rabbit looked up at the towering trees, seeing a faint glimmer of the crecsant moon. It was yellow...almost like cheese. It sparkled in envious light, but was shrouded in a mystic energy. One that made you feel lightheaded. The trees made it hard to spot though. But it would appear as if the stars were really out tonight. Vanilla smiled, thinking of those stars. Cream always enjoyed them, too. But she was still worried about events to come.

...

"What!?" Sonic jaw dropped from the news he had just heard.

Sonic had asked Tails where Amy was. Tails told Sonic that he had received news that Amy was taken to the hospital after suffering sever wounds to the chest and legs. Sonic was dumbfounded. When did this all happen? Was it yesterday? Was it when he was out cold? What was going on? Eggman was probably playing them all for fools. Ironically, they had listened to him many times, and yet, they decided to not relate the crime to him. Now, when Eggman isn't even around, they convict him with no other explanation. Nothing was making sense. Sonic knew that for sure!

"That's right," Tails replied to Sonic's awe-induced statement. "she seemed really hurt. I saw her just a few hours ago. But visiting hours ended," the fox sighed with a sly smile on his face, "and...well...I had to leave."

"Yeah, but where was I!!" Sonic shouted.

"Shh...don't wake up anyone, Sonic. You know what happened last time."

_Flashback_

_"Listen, WHERE IS MY BASEBALL CAP!! TAILS!!" Sonic shouted angrily. Mostly blind fury._

_"What the? Hey you, damnit, boy, shut it!" a cranky owl from next door scolded._

_"Yeah!" an eagle agreed. "Some of us actually sleep, you know!" And with that, the two animals prowled onto the hedgehog, pounding him down to silence him._

_End flashback_

"Oh yeah. Not a pleasant thought." Sonic remarked. He didn't want to make those two angry again. It meant certain death...well...not death, but still. That owl...

Remeber Old Man Heatherbottom I told you about? Well, that owl IS Old Man Heatherbottom. He's a cranky old fellow and he never gets enough sleep (in his book) and he hates Sonic personally because of the hedgehog's free-spirited attitude. Apparently, Heatherbottom appreciates Tails for controlling Sonic's rowdy behavior on several occassions. But would appreciate it even more if he got Sonic to stop all together. But if you know Sonic, that wasn't a possibility.

His friend, the Eagle, is BillyBoo. A strange name, a nickname to be exact. His real name is William. He's not as cranky, but still dislikes Sonic for the same exact reasons.

Enough of that, though, back to the story...

Sonic scratched his head, recollecting his cool looked out Tails' doorway and up to the bright moon. Then he looked down at the moist ground. A rose...how very odd, was springing from the ground litterally before his eyes. But Soinc didn't recall Tails' owning a rose garden. Did he? The only thing he ever saw Tails' plant was that seed of Cosmo when she had sacraficed herself what seemed so long ago.

"Hey, Tails, you wouldn't happen to be planting roses, would you?" Sonic asked. He sounded suspiciously curious about the whole thing. Especially when Sonic backed up to let the fox come out and see for himself. The fox even seemed troubled, so he couldn't have grown it.

"No. I don't grow roses. That's strange." Tails went back in and came out with a magnefine glass. He knelt down by the specimen and observed it through the glass tool. To his suprise, there was no abnormalties about it. It was just an ordinary rose that you'd find in a garden or the forest. But the question of how it got placed there was still a mystery. An omen perhaps? Maybe even a _good_ sign?

But it made the hedgehog think. Amy was always chasing after him and he ignored her. Now, with the state she's in, may be his last talk with her. Sonic was beginning to wonder on past events. Maybe, just maybe, he and Amy were meant to be. Whatever it was, Sonic knew one thing, and that was that he needed to get to that hospital as soon as possible. "Sorry, Tails." Sonic began as he got ready for a dash. "Gotta go!"

A blue blur was the last thing that fox saw as his friend darted off down the cliffside and into the city. "Same old Sonic." Tails remarked to himself as he walked back inside, closing the door behind him.

...

"What the hell is that?!" Knuckles gasped for air. A small brown pile of sludge gave off an odor. It lay just feet away from the entrance to the base. The echidna couldn't take much more of the smell. His face turned green and he began to feel sick in the stomach. "Oh, GOD THAT SMELLS!!" Knuckles shouted out, unable to hold his content much longer. That was, until he heard the clank of metal footsteps.

Suddenly, a mechanical figure jumped down onto the ground before Knuckles.

"I am Sonic2. **S**uper **O**bliterator **N**ano-**I**on **C**ollateral 2."

Knuckles seemed shocked at first, but shook it off quickly and got into his fighting stance. "Alright, when I'm through with you, you'll look like that shit on the ground, eh, bot boy!?" Knuckles smirked with a grin. But the android didn't even move. He just stood there with his palm out. A sinister glare from his eyes was bestowed on the echidna, making the mamal feel highly uncomfortable.

Knuckles broke the prolonging silence with a bold statement, "You must be that android that nearly wipped Sonic out, huh? Sonic2, right?"

The android only nodded. A powerful energy beam began charging in the palm of his hand. Knuckles thought quickly. As the beam was fired, the echidna cleverly ducked and rolled up to the droid and kicked from below, making Sonic2 collapse on his rear. "Why you?! I do not understand your tactics. They are highly unusual for combat and yet they are very effective." the android noted.

Meanwhile, inside the base, Blaze the Cat heard the fighting. Though she knew it wasn't Sonic by the faint sound of Knuckles' voice. But right now, she didn't care. The only thing she cared about at the moment was getting out of there, one way or another!

Knuckles jumped on missile after missile as Sonic2 began launching them out everywhere. _This thing's insane!_ Knuckles thought. Suddenly, the droid's eyes began to glow, and a powerful laser shot out of them, whacking Knuckles back, down the cliff. Sonic2 followed ruthlessly down, ready to bit the crap out of him. Knuckles saw Sonic2 about to prounce onto him. He rolled to the side and successfully pulled off an uppercut to the android's chin, causing him to be airborn. When Sonic2 recovered his ground, he seemed a bit pissed off. "I have had it with you! Prepare to die, echidna!"

Sonic2 pulled out a ray gun attached to his wrist and fired thirty-some blasts of energy. Knuckles began to feel heavy. Then heavier. Unable to withstand the power, the echidna fell to his knees in defeat. Knuckles groaned in agony. His spine began creaking as if it was about to snap. When all seemed lost, the android finally ceased fire. Something told Knuckles that this bot had other plans for him. Sonic2 walked up to Knuckles who lay on his back on the canyon dirt. Knuckles starred at the moon, and suddenly, at the android face looking down on him. But rather than continuing the fight, the android held out his hand in assistance.

Knuckles was baffled as he was pulled onto his feet. Hesitantly, he looked to the side to see the android starring at him. "You spared me. Why?" Knuckles was confused.

Sonic2 just looked up to the sky away from Knuckles. "You were a fine opponent who knew skills I did not. You _will_ die...but not like this. I will battle you again one day, without the aid of a weapon. Then...only then...will we see who is truly the best." the bot explained as it jetted away on its jetback unit (transformable back component).

Knuckless stood there speechless for awhile. Even after the android was long gone. How very strange, that a robot who was programmed to mercilessly murder many people, would look at him as worthy to stay alive. While pondering, Knuckles realized something about that weapon that Sonic2 had used. _Wasn't that the weapon Tails' told all of us about?!_ Knuckels was shocked once more. He had thought of it as a joke. But now he knew that it was surely not a joke, as it had almost killed him.

But more along to important things, the echidna once again used his fists to climb back up to the base entrance. But he was worn from the battle and climbed the slowest he had climbed in years. He felt heavier than usual and he thought very hard on several things. One of the most sinister things he pondered on was Sonic2. Super Obliterator Nano-Ion Collateral 2. Definately belonged to Eggman. But what was inside the base began worrying him the most. If Sonic2 was that powerful, what if Eggman had something else up his sleve? Only time would tell, and it was up to himself to be ready for it.

...

"What a strange lifeform." Sonic2 thought mentally. Eggman had given him humanoid properties such as the ability to think, to read, to feel. Necessities.

The android remained puzzled after his encounter with Knuckles just as Knuckles was puzzled on him. Never had Sonic2 ever seen that kind of combat before. There was more to this echidna than his looks and attitude. Sonic2 landed his jetpack unit onto the steep forest hill with its darkened soil with overshadowing trees. The dark earth beneath him shook as he made impact with the earth. His sensors began picking up traces of powerful life-waves.

Life-Waves, in terms of Dr. Eggman, were waves given off by lifeforms. The stronger the lifeform, the stronger the wave. This wave seemed so familiar that it made his metal creak as he stood in fighting stance. The last time Sonic2 felt this much of a wave, it was from that black hedgehog, Shadow.

Midnight was passing on, Sonic2 had a very tight schedule. "Those rabbits. They _must_ be with _him_. There is no other options."

So with that, the android walked pacefully through the forests. He had no time to waste here. Especially when his targets had not been eliminated.

...

"How can I help you, sir?" a hospital employee and the sign in desk asked. The rat looked at the blue hedgehog then back to his checklist.

"Visit. Amy Rose?" Sonic replied anxiously towards the rat. The rat nodded and entered Sonic's name into the computer. "Alright, visiting hours end in 45 minutes. That should be enough time, right?" the employee asked. Sonic eagerly nodded his head.

"Okay, then. Room 404 on the 4th floor. Do be mannered, though, people around here don't like to be disturbed. The hedgehog nodded his head, finding no reason to argue. So, rather than running, Sonic walked at a steady pace.

As the hedgehog walked, he looked into each individual room. It was then that he began feeling sorry for people. Gunshot wounds, attempted murder, cancer, and even having an organic limb removed. His expression turned to a sad look and he decided to drop in on someone. He peered through the glass window on the side. Inside the room, a doctor was discussing options with a couple. A young female cat, a teenager, lie in a full body cast. Sonic went to the wooden door and placed his firmly against it to hear what they were saying.

"Mr and Mrs. Allen, we are currently looking after your daughters well being. But we fear that the injury to her skull was collateral in several ways. If we cannot be successful in the up coming surgery...if you permitt us...we fear for the worst." Sonic heard crying after that. It seemed to break his heart. Sonic began wondering if there was anything he could do. But he had no idea about surgery, or how to run equiptment of any kind. There couldn't possibly be anything that he could do.

Sonic decided to leave. He heard footsteps heading to the door. The hedgehog walked away as the doctor came out.

Sonic thought he was in the clear. He wore an expression of nervousness and regret. He heard a voice behind him call out, "Hey, you, son. Come over hear." It was the doctor who had called him. Sonic turned around, and attempted to change his facial expression. "Yes, sir?" Sonic asked politely.

The doctor motioned a finger, giving Sonic a hint to come over. When he and the doctor stood face to face, the doctor looked into the previous room, then back at our hero.

"You were listening in, weren't you."

Sonic only starred. The doctor was a grey falcon with crispy white hair and a beard. "What...makes you think that?" Sonic asked. His voice was worried and the doctor could tell. He sighed and looked back into that room. "I'm Dr. Earnright. And THAT was Alexis Allen in that body cast."

"What happened to her, doc?"

"Sever injuy to the skull, I'm afraid."

"How?"

"She was wandering around the Forgotten Canyons."

That statement brought shock to the blue hedgehog's face. He remembered Knuckles before he left on a journey of some sort.

_"See ya, Sonic. I'm gonna go look for Egghead's base. Maybe go through a few canyons or so. I'll be back."_

"Everything alright, son?" the doctor snapped Sonic out of his memory. He shook his head and looked back at Earnright. "Yeah, fine."

The doctor nodded before heading off in the opposite direction.

Sonic then remembered what he had came for. He turned back in the right direction and walked off.

Finally, he had reached Amy's room. She lay weakly in her bed. She had been given a trake. Sonic was horrified. He looked up at the monitor. _Heatrate seems good._ Sonic thought happily. But when he looked down at Amy, he could only feel regret. A burden. Where was he when this happened? He should've been there for his friend. But he wasn't, and now he had seen what the results were. Disaster.

Amy Rose lay with her eyes gently shut. She seemed to be sleeping. Her hands crossed each other on her lap. Her hammer lay against the corner from the bed.

"Amy," Sonic whispered gently in her ear. The pink hedgehog's eyes slowly opened the set their eyes on the caller. They seemed to water when they saw Sonic. Yet, there was a smile on her face. A happy mood surrounded her, even in this condition. Sonic smiled and laid his hand on her's. He pulled a seat over to the bed so he could sit beside her. And so he did. He sat and patted her hands gently with his. He spoke to her. He wasn't sure whether she could hear him or not, but he didn't care, and talked to her anyway.

"How you doing? They treating you good?" Sonic asked with a friendly grin. Amy could not speak, but she replied with a smile and a grip on his hand. Another tear fell from her eye. Not a sad tear. But one of joy. She seemed to be glad that Sonic had bothered to visit her. Normally he'd be running from her. But things seemed different now. Nothing seemed the same anymore, anyway.

"Hey, I'm gonna be right here, okay?" Sonic spoke to her. His tone was soft and sweet. Very unusual for Sonic, but a very nice thing to do. Amy smiled and moved her head in an uncomfortable manner. "I'll fluff that pillow for you." Sonic said. He carefully lifted her head, took the pillow, and placed it under her head and once more carefully put her back down. She passed a smile his way. Sonic couldn't help but to blush. For the first time ever, he began feeling strongly about her. Whether it was right or not, he wasn't going to leave, visiting hours or no visiting hours. They could not tell him to leave his friend. Until Amy would get better, this is where he needed to be the most. By her side.

...

Knuckles the Echidna smashed a whole through the steel doors and made a dive through it, only to land slickly onto the tiled floors of the interior. He looked in all directions of the intersection within. _Which way should I go?_ Knuckles thought quickly. This had to be a quick mission. He hoped Eggman was asleep. He wasn't afraid of Eggman, but he _was_ afraid of his _toys._ With a quick burst of speed, the echidna ran quickly through the halls.

Suddenly, he came to a stop. A series of security cameras marked the next few walls. "Good ol' Eggman. Hasn't changed a bit!" He whispered to himself. He jumped up quickly and pounded each camera left and right, jumping from one end to the other. Soon enough, there were no cameras left. Knuckles worried, however, that he ahd made to much sound. The echidna looked for the closest corner and dove into the shadows. He remained there for several minutes. But he stayed there after hearing Bokkun walk by. What was that little rat up to?

Sure enough, the moment passed, and Knuckles was on the run again.

Bokkun walked down the hall. He noticed the broken security cameras on the ground. _What? How'd this happen? How'd ANYONE get in!_ Bokkun thought worriedly to himself. Eggman wouldn't be happy.

He pressed a button on his wrist watch to get a hold of the doctor before it was too late.

Eggman was snoozing away. That is, until the dreadful ringing of his communicator. "Huh? WHAT IS IT!?" Eggman was crankier than usual. "Doctor, someone's gotten into the base!" Bokkun exclaimed. Eggman's expression turned from angry to suprised. "Say what? How?"

Bokkun shrugged before continuing. "Don't know. But when I went for a glass of milk, all the cameras on the walls were fried."

Eggman pondered. "Don't worry about it, Bokkun."

"Don't worry? I don't get it."

"They're after our prisoners, Bokkun...I think."

"Still don't get it."

"We have no use for them. But keep an eye on the perp, make sure he or she does nothing else!"

Bokkun made a solut. "You got it, doctor!"

...

Tails sat on his couch for quite sometime. He wasn't sure what to do. It was times like this that the yellow fox wished his beloved Cosmo was still around. At least then he wouldn't feel so lonely. Sure, he had good friends and all, but they seemed to have something else on their minds all of the time. If Cosmo was still here with him, he could talk to her about anything. But she sacrificed herself to save the universe. So to deal with the lonelyness, he'd tell himself it was for a good cause. But then he remembered it. He was the one who did the sacrificing. He had shot at her. He couldn't bring himself to forgiveness. Tails wasn't sure if he ever could.

The fox turned his head to the window sill and looked at the beautiful plant growing there. That always cheered him up. That plant was the last thing he had to remember his dear Cosmo. Nothing could take that away from him. He wouldn't allow it.

He walked over to the window and saw the sky turning pink. Night was coming to an end. Daylight was beginning to stretch across the stary sky. Soon these nightmares could end. Or at least, he hoped they could.

...

"Blaze?" Knuckles asked. He looked rather shocked to see her again. Ever since the Sol Emerald Crisis, somewhere after the Metarex innicdent, he never thought he'd see her again.

"Knuckles, right? Thank goodness you're here. Think you could lend a hand?" Blaze asked, a smile of gratitude on her face. Knuckles nodded and held out one of his fists. "Just you watch." he remarked.

"Now hold it!"

The echidna turned to see Rouge in a net hanging from the wall. He didn't know whether to feel sorry for her, or to burst out laughing at her misfortune. One simply way to get out of that kind of situation is to do neither. Of course, that was his decision. Another thing he debated on was whether to save her or not. After all, she did say she could handle things her own way on her own. So why should he be the one to say no to it and help out? She drived him batty, anyway, so might as well leave it at that.

Knuckles made eye contact with her for sometime without breaking silence until he walked over to her. "Why?"

Rouge just huffed and fidgeted with her fingernails. "Well, Egghead made sure there was no way to get out of these damn things. What makes you think you can break it?"

Knuckles just went back over to the cage, and struck it with full force. Blaze felt the trevoring of the steel, until the bars finally collapsed onto the ground, leaving an indent on the tiled flooring.

Rouge looked at him dumbfoundedly. She couldn't believe her eyes. But then she saw a mistake with the plans the doctor had in store. The cage was fire proof, not strength proof, though, when it came to Knuckles. Did that mean he'd be able to free her as well? She sure did hope so. "Well then, mind helping me out, too?" Rouge flickered her eyes towards the echidna, hoping to charm him into it. Oblivious, he slashed the net with his fist as hard as he could. Nothing happened!

"What?" Knuckles looked back at his fists in astonishment. Surely he was powerful enough to do away with it. Wasn't he? Blaze motioned him aside and stood before the net. She had a devilish grin on her face. Rouge didn't like it one bit. "Oh no. You have GOT to be kidding me!" Rouge complained almost immediately.

"It's either that, or nothing!" Blaze noted sternly at the bat. Rouge looked at the netted ropes around her and then back at the cat. "Oh, fine, then. But don't roast me, okay?"

"Don't worry, I'll _try._"

Try. Rouge wasn't fond of that word as of now. But in no time at all, the cat shot a burst of flame that slashed the net open, leaving a gash for her to jump down through.

The two huddled together in hopes of a plan and some explanations.

"So, how did both of you end up here?" Knuckles asked. It was obvious for even a character like him to have some interest in things. Especially when they are Eggman related. Blaze looked away not wanting to answer one thing to him. Rouge, on the other hand, fixed her hair, and stpped up to Knuckles with a bit of glitter in her voice.

"Well, I was on my way to let Sonic know Eggman had a few tricks up his sleves. New ones."

"Don't worry, he knows, now."

"What?" Blaze interjected.

"That's right," Knuckles began, "he almost got fried. In fact, that new android almost fried ME!" Rouge wagged her finger teasingly at the echidna. "My, my, Knuckles, getting beat by a bag of bolt, I see." Knuckles could've just whacked her in the face as hard as he could. But what could would that do for him. He still had to get out of Eggman's base, and he still had to find away to beat the shit out of that android.

"Come on, let's get out of here," Knuckles suggested. The two ladied nodded and they dashed out of the base as quick as possible.

Little did they know, Bokkun had monitored every motion, overheard every word said. Now it was time to report back to Dr. Eggman. But Bokkun knew that his boss would be asleep again. He'd wait until morning when he wouldn't be as cranky. "So, what to do now." Bokkun whispered to himself. He wasn't tired anymore. Maybe a few scouting missions would clear things up. One thing in particular, what was going on with that pesky Cream girl? Bokkun fired up his jetpack and launched off into the pink sky.

...

Shadow had led the two rabbits to Tails' Workshop. Tails was sleeping peaceful on the couch. A guest bed was still available. As soon as the two rabbits walked in, Vanilla set Cream down onto the soft mattress. She knew she wouldn't get any sleep tonight. But that didn't mean her darling Cream couldn't. Vanilla merely sat down at the table, where Tails' ate his meals, and looked as the door shut, Shadow waving a farewell.

Vanilla sighed as she looked out the window. The night was over and daylight was now beginning. It was another day, another chance. Whatever was going on, she wanted to know about it. She looked at her daughter, and at the sleeping fox, and decided that she needed alittle insight. Vanilla went over to Tails' computer. Luckily it was still logged in. It was time for her to know some things.

...

Sonic looked at his watch. Daylight was here. Visiting hours had ended a long time ago. But he told the nurses he refused to leave his friend. After numerous attempts to rid the room of him, the nurses gave up. Amy slept peacefully as Sonic held her hand the whole time. Nightfall had brought many suprises. Sonic could only imagine what the new day had to bring. More importantly, what was Eggman's next move.


	6. Next Move

**Piercing Through the Dark  
**_by 1Speak-th3-Truth_

**Chapter 6  
**Next Move

Hospitals always seem to be dark and gloomy. You sit alone in your bed wondering when family or friends will come to visit you. The food seems bad and there just isn't anything worth doing, or able to be done, because it's just too much for you to take. Amy Rose thought of it like that for sometime. But sometime around midnight, a good and strongly admired friend of hers came to visit her. Sonic the Hedgehog. There he stayed with her, and she was able to sleep happily, knowing he was there.

Amy finally opened her eyes. The same feeling, sensation was felt on her wrist. The very same one. She looked over to her side to see Sonic still there. Wide awake and aware of things. _Did he even sleep?_ she thought curiously. She wished she could ask him. But being hooked up to all these machines made it virtually impossible. But she remembered the doctor saying yesterday that if she did well through the night, she could go to heal the rest of her wounds naturally. It was only her chest wound, after all, that was considered a threat to her well being. Everything else was just a cut or scrape that would eventually heal anyway.

If she did get taken off of the dreaded machines surrounding her, she could tell Sonic how much it really meant to her for him to visit on such short notice.

But memories had time to enter her mind. She remembered that mechanical menace that did this to her. She remembered it as if it had just happened a few minutes ago. Who or what was that? Why did it have the nerve to fire at her with no mercy whatsoever. Was this one of Eggman's doings. Amy realized how ridiculous it was to question that. Of course it was Eggman! It was always him behind these kinds of things. He never seemed to bore of them. He always kept springing back with a new suprise. But this time it was serious. This new weapon of his. It could mean disaster for the world if Sonic didn't put an end to it. That's when it came to mind. _Am I holding him back?_ the pink hedgehog thought. It was a deep thought and a hard one to get an anwer to.

Without warning, Dr. Earnright walked in with a checklist. An assistant followed. It was a bee. Charmy?!

"Charmy?! W-What are you doing here?" Sonic asked suprised. "Oh, hey, Sonic. Amy got pretty messed up, wouldn't you say?"

"Charmy!"

"Okay, okay. So Vector told me I had to get us some spare cash. I'm not a nurse or anything, but I can get the doc what he needs."

"Charmy, hold my checklist for a moment, please." said Earnright. Charmy took it off of his hands so that the doctor could examine Amy thoroughly and make sure she was willing to go. Sonic waited patiently, anxious to know if she'd be free from this hospital bed. The expression on the doctor's face was a happy one. Things seemed a-okay.

"Well, Ms. Rose, seems you've really improved in such great time!" the doctor noted. "I think you're ready."

Amy looked to see a smile on Sonic's face. She'd be out of here sooner than she had ever hoped.

...

_"Cosmo, wait! You can't go!" Tails ran frantically through the darkness of space. The moment, the moment he lost his friend Cosmo replayed itself before his very eyes. "STOP!!" Tails cried out. But all appeared as no one had even bothered any mind to him. He jumped from one astroid to the other as he saw himself about to fire the cannon at the target he couldn't bare to name. Cosmo stood there with a smile on her face as the beam charged up. Tails jumped in front of the beam, or at least tiried. But he missed and fell into the vast darkness, watching...as she was vanquished into nothingness._

"NO!!"

His scream had woken Cream, and suprised Vanilla. His fur was soaked in his own sweat and his breathing was harshly heavy. He looked around to notice it was all a dream. But he remembered the one scary thing...how real it _felt_. But now back into reality, it felt so distant in his mind. As if it had never even happened in the first place. The sensation was strange and distorted in a way even Tails couldn't explain it. Now he realized that nightmares weren't just dreams, they were pure horror in your sleep.

"My, my, are you alright, Miles?" Vanilla asked, walking over to the couch and kneeling down. She felt his head, then his chest, making sure he wasn't ill. "Mrs. Vanilla? What're you doing here?" Tails asked. He sat up and shook his head to get the thought of the dream out of his mind. "Shadow dropped us off here. I hope you won't mind."

Tails shook his head, "Of course not."

Vanilla smiled and patted him on the back as a thank you. Cream yawned and stretched out from the bed. The vision of last night was faint in her mind. She seemed to have had a pleasant dream. Tails wondered why Shadow would bring them here. Then the thought came to mind. _Eggman!_ Tails pounded a fist at the sofa, making an imprint in the fabric. _Shadow must've brought them here to get away from that android._ It all began making sense.

"Good morning, Tails. How did you sleep?" Cream asked, skipping over to Tails, giving him a hug. Tails' eyes were slightly bloodshot, and his fur appeared ruffled abit. Cream already knew the answer after Tails had not answered after so long. She seemed to feel bad for him. In a way, she viewed him as her BEST friend. "Rought night, Tails?" she asked, hoping he'd answer this time around.

Tails sighed and looked at her with a glad smile. "Thanks for caring, Cream. I guess you could say that." was his answer. Just hearing him made her smile. "Okay!" she ran over to her mother in no time at all.

"Would you like some pancakes, dear?" Vanilla came over and asked. Cream clinged to her leg. Tails jumped up with life and nodded quickly. "Would I?!" he ran off to the table, Cream shortly following him. Vanilla smiled. She always knew how to cheer Miles up. Even in the bleakest of moods she always knew what to do.

...

"May I ask where we're heading?" Blaze asked, holding onto Knuckles arm as he ran swiftly through the rocky terrain. Rouge the Bat flew high above them, watching for Knuckles to know where to go. Every time Knuckles started running to the right, she would soar to the left and so on.

"Sorry, Blaze. Run first, talk later. Eggman may have _wanted_ us to get out. You can never be to sure." the echidna explained. Blaze nodded. "I guess so." was all she could say at the time. Rouge lowered so she was hovering above the ground, right next to Knuckles. "Hey, Knuckles. Hey, princess." she teased. Blaze grew angry and the heat produced from her body intensified, making Knuckles pay for it. He felt the burning sensation as soon as Blaze grew angry. "Rouge!" he yelled.

"Sorry," is all she said in reply before heading back up to the skies.

Blaze calmed down, and the burning sensation ended, making Knuckles feel more relieved. "I'm sorry, Knuckles." Blaze said totally embarrassed. Knuckles pardoned her with a wink. "Hey, don't worry about it, okay?"

Blaze nodded with a smile.

They continued down the canyon line until reaching a dead end. A towering wall of rock and dirt and mud stood in their way. Well, for two of them. Rouge simply flew over head, stopping on the other side waiting for the others. "You ready, Blaze?"

"No problem." is all she said before launching a firy wave of power at the wall, blasting it upwards. Unfortunately for Rouge, the waste material splattered at her in range, leaving her covered in absolute filth.

Knuckles and Blaze couldn't help but to laugh.

...

"Now if you would just sign here." Dr. Earnright said. He held out a paper and Sonic began signing his and Amy's name on it. His hand gave back the paper and pen and grabbed the two handles of a wheel chair. Amy Rose sat comfortably on it. "Ready to go, Amy?" Sonic said with a smile. Amy gave him a familiar look in the eye.

"Yeah, but don't you run too fast, alright?" her voice was weak as a result from her hospitalization. But she was glad to be out of there. Being in a hospital in a bed all day long wasn't exactly the place to be. There had seemed to be nothing to do. Finally, Sonic set out from the hospital. To Amy's suprise, he didn't even run. Not once. "Aren't you going to run?" she asked. Sonic just shook his head and continued to walk. "Can't risk it." is what he said. Her cheeks began to blush as he continued to escort her through the city.

"Shouldn't be much longer. My house isn't too far from here." Sonic noted. _He's taking me to his house?_ Amy thought. It seemed her dream was finally coming true. But that didn't erase the thought of the menace that had taken her down. She wondered to herself why Eggman all of a sudden cares about taking them all out rather than just aiming for Sonic. That's when an answer came to mind. _Of course,_ she thought, _Eggman knows that Sonic gets his strength from us. Together he could never beat Sonic. But with me, Cream, Tails, and Knuckles out of the way, Sonic will have to fight Eggman on his own...and when that happens--_

She was cut off from her thoughts when Sonic spoke softly to her, "Want some ice-cream before we head over to my place? I'm all out of sweets over there." Amy nodded quickly.

Sonic opened the push-in, glass doors of the ice-cream parlor, making sure to push her in safely. While he wanted it to be fun, the blue hedgehog kept an eye out for Sonic2. That imposter would never see the llight again if he ever laid a hand on Amy Rose again. This he swore to his soul. Amy would be safe so long as he saw to it.

...

"Miles, could you please pass the butter?" Mrs. Vanilla asked politely to the yellow fox. "Sure, here you go." he handed over the butter, then the spread knife. "Thank you, dear."

Tails, Cream, and Mrs. Vanilla sat at the table eating their breakfast without a care in the world. Cream loved pancakes. In fact, you could consider them one of her many favorites. Tails, of course, would eat anything. But, when Mrs. Vanilla decided to cook, it was an offer he just couldn't stand to waste. The three finished up and Vanilla offered to wash dishes. Tails didn't want her doing all the work, so he decided to dry the dishes for her. Cream just remained at the table to do a little coloring. Tails had a lot of coloring books that he never used, so when Cream came to visit, he always had one waiting for her.

Cream picked up a red crayon. She was coloring a butterfly on a tree. But before she could get started, she noticed a blue-colored glow coming from somewhere nearby. At first, the young rabbit believed it to be her mind playing tricks on her. She picked up the crayon again, but the same glow struck the corner of her vision. Still, she didn't want to worry Tails of it. One last attempt at coloring once again failed by that blue glow which began to turn into a flash. "Tails!!" she squealed from the surge of excitment. The yellow fox ran into the room to see what the problem was. He too saw the glowing light. "Where is that coming from?" Tails asked. He was even clueless.

"The flower, Miles, dear. The flower." Vanilla pointed coming from the kitchen. "Flower?" Tails asked. He looked over at his plant on the window sill. It truly was the cause of this. The flash began to turn white from the intensifying state of its brightness. "Oh, dear!" Mrs. Vanilla hurried over to Cream, shielding her eyes, and closing her own. Tails put a hand in front of him and motioned his head to the side to see anything he could possibly see from this distance.

But after time passed, the fox was forced to close his eyes as well. Suddenly, a musical sound began playing. Like a chorus playing a sweet bedtime story to them. The sound was so peaceful all of them could've slept right there. But the music faded as did the light. Tails, Cream, and Mrs. Vanilla opened their eyes to a shock in deed.

Tails couldn't help to blurt out from the silence, "COSMO!!"

...

"That android. It's ruining everything." Shadow mumbled to himself. The Ultimate Lifeform walked in a positive manner. But he knew that it was a hurricane in his head. Life was spiraling out of control. Of course, Eggman was to blame for this, too. The black hedgehog pondered on several things as he walked through the forest. The roses blowing in the breeze along the trees reminded him of how Amy might be doing by now. The blowing wind made him think of what Sonic might be doing right now. Finally, the families gathering in the forest reminded him of Cream and Mrs. Vanilla. What were they up to?

The peaceful environment of the forest couldn't even help calm his mind, because everything there reminded him of something. Was this who he was to be? The one who feels pain in himself for the danger others get into? Is this what Maria intentionally meant? To help others with their problems, he'd have to take the fall for them? It didn't quite make sense to the hedgehog. But whatever it meant, he knew he had to do osmething.

"Hey, Shadow!" a voice called out. Shadow looked back on the forest path to see Vector jump out from a bundle of bushes several feet back from where he stood. The muscular figure walked up to him and gave the hedgehog a pat on the back. "How's it goin', buddy?" Vector asked in different words. Shadow just turned away from him.

"What are you doing here, Vector? Where's the rest of your pathetic detective agency?"

The comment didn't anger Vector. Strangely, he would guess Shadow would say something like that. "Come on, pal. Don't be like that." the green and yellow aligator suggested. "Hmf." Shadow huffed and walked on. But the same voice brought him to a stop. "You're after Eggman's new weapon, aren't you?"

Those words brought Shadow to an instant stop. He turned back around to face Vector, and walked back over. "New weapon?" Shadow was interested in this. Vector nodded. "Yep, that's right."

Shadow wasn't sure whether to trust Vector's words. He was known to cause trouble. If he wasn't causing trouble, he may still be lying. But as of now, Shadow would believe about anything. "Tell me about this new weapon," Shadow insisted.

Vector gave him anothe rnod and cleared his throat. "This weapon was launched into outerspace. I didn't see it, but Espio reported back to me. Eggman's base is located in the Forgotten Canyons and-"

"Forgotten Canyons!?" Shadow had heard of that place. Satan's mark on the planet. Hell on earth for the weak minded.

"Ahem...yes...Forgotten Canyons. Anyway, this new weapon is apparently after something in space. Stars, most likely."

"Why stars?" Shadow was confused. Then he gasped when he finally got it in his mind. "Power."

Vector gave him a thumbs up. "That's right. He calls this weapon 'Matter Shot'."

Shadow did not answer from those words. Vector didn't seem to notice and just kept talking. "According to Espio, Eggman made a prototype blaster to some strange android he called K24-Z, and renamed it Sonic2."

"How do you know all of this?" Shadow wanted to know.

Vector just chuckled and broke the branch from a tree like a meter stick a teacher would use. "Elementary my dear Shadow, Elementary...ah...to hell with it...we snuck in last night and read through the doctor's files. We saw Knuckles sneak in, too." With that, Vector walked off not looking back. Shadow didn't know whether to believe anything, but he had to. This was...as of now...his only lead in this crisis. So he dashed off from the forest, and back to the city in hopes of finding someone. Espio.

...

"C-Cosmo, it-it can't...be." Tails was shocked. Cosmo stood right before him, as for all the others, they were just as shocked as he was. He had to be still dreaming. Either that, or he had to be seeing things. But everyone could see her. Maybe they were all having the same dream or seeing the same strange things. "Tails." Cosmo spoke softly. It was he exact voice he remembered. She walked closer. Tails was unable to make any decisions, including that of either fleeing or fighting. What was he going to do.

Cosmo stood right in front of him, and in a quick instant, she wrapped her arms around him, embracing him in a warm and affectionate hug. "Is it really you?" Tails asked softly in her ear. Cosmo broke away from the embrace and smiled. With a nod she said, "It is me, Tails. It really is." Tails was unsure of what to feel. What were Cream and Vanilla doing. Weren't they going to help them out. Then he realized that they must be awestruck as well.

"I-I must be seeing things." Tails said aloud. Cosmo frowned in response. She walked over to him and placed a warm hand on his cheek. Tails grew warm the instant she laid her hands on him. He had felt this warmth before, quite awhile ago, and he never wanted that warmth to leave him again. "I'm real. Please believe me. Do you believe me, Cream?" Cosmo asked, turning to the young rabbit and patting her on the head. "I'd like to, but I do not know." Cream was hesitant in replying. Vanilla had never even seen Cosmo. But Tails had given her a description. And this thing standing before her matched ever detail perfectly.

Tails all of a sudden didn't want to hold his lack of faith on her anylonger, and wrapped his own arms around her. This time, he never wanted to let go. Tears streamed down his eyes, and seemed to stream down even faster from _her_ eyes. "Cosmo, promise me you'll never leave me, again." Tails wished for her garentee. Cosmo smiled and rested her head on his shoulder, "I never did leave you. By the way, the view of outside was quite pleasant."

The yellow fox drew back from the embrace and cocked his head to the side. "That plant. It was you?" Tails asked curiously. Cosmo nodded, "Of course I was. Why else would I have asked you to take very good care of those seeds. The seed you had, was me." Cosmo explained. Tails didn't actually care. All he knew now was that Cosmo was here to stay. But then he remembered the android. The one that could ruin everything just as Dark Oak had before. He didn't want it to happen again. He hoped it wouldn't have to come to it. But he knew one thing for sure, and that was that he had to be prepared for anything. For now, however, he just wanted to spend some time with her.

"My dear," Mrs. Vanilla walked over to Cosmo with an open heart. "do you know where you'll be staying?"

Before anyone could say anything, Tails answered, "She can stay here," he looked over at her with a grin, "if that's what she'd want." Cosmo nodded, her cheeks turned red from her hidden affection. Cream jumped up with Cheese for joy. (Anyone who asks, Cheese had been asleep).

"Yay. Our friend is here to stay!" The chao cooed with merriment.

No one, though, was as happy as Miles Prowler. This had just earned the right to be called one of the best days of his life. Wait until he told all the others about this.

...

_All tests and charges complete. Matter Shot now online._ the computer in Eggman's base proclaimed. Eggman grew a devilish grin. "Ha! Now let's see what this baby can do!!" Dr. Eggman typed in numerous commands. The rocket in space transformed from a rocket into a mega cannon, larger and more powerful than the Eclipse Cannon. "HO! HO! HO!" the doctor laughed to himself. "Bokkun, prepare the first strike on our little blue friend."

"Yes, doctor." Bokkun entered in the command with out hesitating even the slightest bit.

"Get ready to face your doom, my old rival...now you are my new all-time enemy!!"

...

Amy held the cone firmly in her hand. Sonic didn't get himself one, seeing as in Amy's safety was his own treat. Amy's hand had grown weak, so Sonic helped her hold it steady. Amy never thought hanging out with Sonic in a wheel chair could be so romantic. But she found out, that Sonic really had feelings for her. Just having him there with her, helping her through with some things, that was enough for her. The rest she didn't care about. Her weak hands, eyes, legs. They were just distractions from what this was all really about.

Strawberry was her favorite flavor. Sonic had no problem with getting her the largest strawberry ice-cream cone they had to offer. Just the taste of it made her tingle. The cold on her tongue versus the warmth from Sonic's hand supporting her own. It was an amazing experience. She knew that through all her remaining years, she'd never forget this. Maybe, just maybe, one day if she were to marry Sonic, tell her kids of how they both met. She'd tell a lighter version of it though. No one wants to remember an evil android that might have caused the failure of their existance. So, she'd tell them that part when they got older.

"Thank you, Sonic. I hope this wasn't too much." Amy said. She could already feel her voice coming back. Sonic just winked and kissed her slightly on the forehead. "No problem, Amy." Her blush grew more red than ever. At this rate, you couldn't be able to telll she was ever pink! Her emotions were beginning to sky rocket.

When Amy had finally finished her cone, Sonic escorted her out of the apartment, and back onto the bustling utopia they lived in. He navigated through crowds of people, events, and anything else you can think of. But he kept close watch in the surrounding alleys and so forth. Amy had told him what had happened to her when they were in the checkout area waiting for Dr. Earnright to come with the papers.

Little did Sonic know about the danger that would soon come from nowhere. Dr. Eggman was ready to unleash all of hell on Sonic and his crew. Hopefully, Sonic would be able to disarm him once again.

...

Tails handed a cup to Cosmo. The four of them sat at the table, and Tails poured some juice into it. "There you go, Cosmo." he said, taking the pitcher back to the kitchen. Cosmo took a small sip before setting the cup back down. There apparently was a lot to explain. First thing that all of them wanted to know-other than Cosmo herself-was how she was able to come back. After all, they had all seen her apparent demise. Was this even possible?

Cream was the least caring of all of them. She didn't _want_ to know how Cosmo returned. All she cared about was that she was back and they'd be friends forever.

Mrs. Vanilla did some house cleaning while Tails, Cream, and Cosmo talked to each other for awhile. They had some catching up to do. Tails wanted to sing aloud. That's how joyous he felt just knowing Cosmo was with him again. Fro all the years she was gone, he felt alone. He longed to see her again, and his faith was not misplaced. She had come back, and they could finally be together.

"So, Cosmo, what'd you think of my planet. You've been here before," Tails looked out the window with a smile. "but didn't really get to enjoy it." Cosmo nodded. "You're right. I was so caught up in the Metarex, I hadn't paid much attention to your planet's beauty." she smiled, too. But she didn't smile looking outside. She smiled looking at Tails. She had missed him just as much as he had missed her. It was like a wall between them. Both wanted to get around to see the other, now they could finally do so.

"I must say, Miles," Mrs. Vanilla interjected for a brief moment, fluffing the pillows that were on the couch, and setting them back down, "you take very good care of your workshop. There's not much for me to clean, here." Her comments normally made Tails smile. Since he never knew his real parents(or at least they are never mentioned at all in the games, etc,), Vanilla pretty much acted as a parent. A guardian to say the least. "Thank you, Mrs. Vanilla." he replied. She gave him a pat on the back, and a kiss on Cream's cheek before leaving the room.

Cosmo got up from the couch and walked over into the kitchen. Tails and Cream wondered where she was going, but decided it was none of their buisness, so they remained put. Cosmo, on the other hand, was looking for something. Something she knew was here. It was powerful and most valued on this planet. She opened up one of the floor boards. The noise creaked and banged on all the other pieces of the structure of the workshop. Tails ran in with a shocked expression. "Cosmo! What on Earth are you doing?" Tails couldn't help but to say it a little more sternly than he had planned.

"Just hold on, please." she said. She dug through the dirt under the floor board until finally a red glow a lit from the earthy rubish. "What the-" Tails was a little suprised. Cosmo grabbed an object in her hand, and placed the floor board back into its rightful place. Cosmo opened her hand in front of the others to reveal...A Chaos Emerald! It was the red emerald. The one thing the others questioned was where it had come from.

"How did that get there, I don't understand." Cream said, looking at it sparkle in Cosmo's hand.

"I'm a little confused, too." Tails agreed.

Cosmo giggled before throwing it to Tails, who caught it without a problem. "I saved this emerald for our use," Cosmo began.

"For what use?" the fox still couldn't quite understand.

"We do have a problem with Dr. Eggman. Don't we?"

"How do you know about that?" Cream asked politely.

"I heard you all talk about it."

An image came to Tails' mind as Cosmo continued to explain the situation. "He was pacing all day, and then I saw Shadow, Amy, and Sonic come in as well, Cream, too. Tails, you were saying something about a new weapon?"

Tails snapped out of his thoughts of the events, and nodded. "Yeah, I did."

Cosmo walked over and rested her head on his shoulder. She moved his hand in front of her so she could see the Chaos Emerald. "So, I figured saving one for us wouldn't be such a bad idea." Cosmo then looked at the scratched flooring of where she had retrieved it. She noticed it wasn't the best place to find it and looked up at Tails. "Sorry about the placing, though." Tails just blused and rubbed her arm, next to his waist. "It's alright Cosmo. But how did you reserve one?"

She backed away and said, "It's a long story. I don't think you'd really want-"

"But we do," said Cream, looking at the both of them. Vanilla stood behind Cream, and just listened. This was a matter for them to solve on their own.

"Alright," Cosmo changed her mind fast from seeing Cream make that cute face that worked so well on many people.

"When the Chaos Emeralds are ordered to seperate, their randomized placing isn't exactly random at all."

Tails and Cream, even Vanilla, looked curious from this. "When they are replaced, spirits who have used them in past ages decide where they will be placed. Sometimes they'll pick one planet, sometimes they'll scatter them throughout the universe." Cosmo walked over to them and held out her hand, in which Tails placed the Chaos Emerald. "I convinced them to place it right here. Though I wish I wouldn't have been so specific."

"Why's that?" Tails asked.

"I said 'under my friend Tails' workshop.' which meant I wanted it nearby. But, they took it literally. That's why I checked there, first."

"Wow, Cosmo, you've done a lot recovering in the form of a plant. That is how it was, right?" said Cream. Though she didn't fully understand.

"Yes I have, Cream. Yes I have." Cosmo smiled, giving Cream a hug. Tails finally felt happy since a while ago. Things were seeming to get better.

...

_Transformation complete. Matter Shot now in Cannon form. Please enter ID password to varify use._

Dr. Eggman typed in the numbers: 440127. This password allowed him to use Matter Shot at will. The failure to enter this code would lock down the command pad and disable the feature to actually use the weapon. The doctor looked closely at all of the monitors. Each one showed a different diagram of Matter Shot. According to the infromation each one provided, the weapon was a-okay and ready to go.

"Time to aim for our little blue friend. Eh, Bokkun?" Dr. Eggman nudged his little assistant. Bokkun laughed with a blush, and got back to preparing their next move. "Yep. Sure is, doctor." he answered.

_I wonder if our prisoners are doing well with Knuckles. They didn't mean a thing to me, anyway._

Suddenly, the monitors changed and Eggman Nega came on screen. "Greetings, doctor. Hope I am not interupting anything." Nega introduced his entry in a cold hissing tone. Dr. Eggman held out a hand and gave his partner a warm welcome.

"Eggman Nega. How nice of you to drop by. What made you want to have a chat with _me_?" Eggman asked.

Dr. Eggman Nega just regarded that last question and got on with what he wanted to ask, "Where is Blaze the Cat? You had her as your prisoner, no?"

Eggman fidgeted with his fingers nervoulsy. _Blast! Maybe I shouldn't of let Knuckles take them off my hand._ "Well?" Nega asked again.

"Um...no...I don't. Knuckles...I ah...let him...ah...I let him take them off my hands. Both of them." Eggman explained.

"YOU DID WHAT!?" Nega's calm personality seemed to vanquish with those scolding words. "YOU IDIOT! She holds the key to both of our successes. Do you realize what you've done?" Nega couldn't help but to feel enraged. Though he knew he hadn't told Eggman about it, so it wasn't really _all_ of his fault. He had to hold some of the blame, too.

"Never mind," Nega stopped Eggman from speaking out. "Just listen to me, we need to get her back in our control. If we don't, well..." Eggman Nega trailed off in thought. "Or what? What will happen?" Dr. Eggman asked, worried that he would once again fail, even being this close to victory.

"Or else, or personality switch will not remain perminate. It'll reverse and we'll be back to our original selves again. This could lead us to error and our utter defeat. We MUST find that cat!"

With that, Eggman Nega disappeared from the screen. Bokkun looked up at his worried boss's face, and wondered if he could do anything.

"Ah, sir, would you like _me_ to look for Blaze for you?" Bokkun offered humbley.

Eggman looked suprised at Bokkun. It wasn't usual for his assistant to ask for a job, rather than to complain about it. He seemed to be filled with delight. "Why yes, Bokkun. That's very helpful of you. Could you?"

"Sure. Why not?" With that, Bokkun flew out of the opening windows, controlled by Eggman's control panel. In a quick burst of rocketing speed, Bokkun flew off into the distance. _Good luck, Bokkun. Good luck._ Eggman thought.

...

Sonic and Amy had finally reached his house. The damage caused by Sonic2 still remained. That included his trashed room, bathroom, and the scared landscape of his backyard. Other than all of that, his house was still up and running in perfect condition. It was then he thought of what might of happened if Shadow hadn't come to his rescue. Things could've turned out much worse than they did.

"Well, Amy, we're here. Sorry about the mess." Sonic said.

Amy looked at the house, then up at Sonic who continued to push her. "No. It's fine." Amy didn't care about the house. She only cared that Sonic would be watching out for her from now on...apparently from now on. Or at least until she was all better. "Well, then," Sonic pushed onwards to the front door, "let's make ourselves nice and cozy."

"Alright! Let's go!" Amy exclaimed happily.

They walked in through the front door, Sonic knew he had some cleaning up to do. But with Amy around, it shouldn't be much of a problem. At leat he'd have company! Cleaning isn't so much of a drag when someone's there to keep you occupied. Or in Sonic's case, on track. But nevertheless, it was more fun when he had Amy around. Carefully he lifted her up from her chair, and down onto the couch, making sure not to cause any unnecessary pain to her healing wounds.

Once she was down and resting, Sonic grabbed a vacccum, mop, and window cleaner for the windows. He decided to do the relandscaping later on when he didn't have company around. With Amy here, he didn't want to have to leave the house at all, unless he could take her with him, and not be in the wide open. He _could_ take her out with him, but then it would become to hazardous with all the physical labor.

"So ah, want anything to drink?" he asked, coming back into the living room. But Amy had already fallen asleep.

He didn't want to wake her, so he knelt down, and kissed her gently on the cheek.

"Sweet dreams, Amy." he whispered.


	7. Things That Go Bump in the Night

_**Author's Note:** I know this is a sort of strange story for Sonic the Hedgehog. Believe me, after this chapter, it'll get REALLY weird. But trust me on this, guys, it'll turn out fantastic, I swear!_

**Piercing Through the Dark  
**_by 1Speak-th3-Truth_

**Chapter 7  
**Things That Go Bump in the Night

Two days have past. Times have quickly come and gone. A hedgehog of blue, and a hedgehog of black. Day and Night. Moon and Sun. Destinies soon entertwin. Fates become clear in the visions of another's eyes. Strange new beginnings, impossible feats. None can quite explain. The feeling is so strange, it feels so unreal. It feels like a dream, until you realize that you are incapable of waking up, for you are already awake.

...

A dangerous creature. That beetle is ruthless. Dr. Eggman kept it locked up and secured it in a high security vault. It will soon become his ultimate weapon. Though he can not call it his creation because he did not _create_ it. In fact, as history has shown, know one exactly knows who created this creature.

According to ancient mythology, the Reliex Blood-Beetle was created by Osumos, the God of Destruction. Many had forgotten of this legend. The Forgotten Canyons are also explained about in this mythology. The planet's data continued to download into Eggman's computer files. He planned on researching everything to do with this Reliex Blood-Beetle. Why? In mythology, this creature will "act" like it knows you are its master, but will kill you once it learns enough about you. Only by feeding it the heart of a hedgehog will it truly become your humble servant.

_But why a hedgehog?_ Eggman thought to himself. Then, he found the information he was looking for. He found it after several hours of searching and downloading. But all of the time consumtion was worth it for what he had found, in which was truly fascinating.

"The historical inhabitants of the Forgotten Canyons, were...HEDGEHOGS!" Dr. Eggman was dumbfounded at that very moment, but continued to read, "Osumos, the God of Destruction, made a deal with the village leader. Osumos gave him four years to make a worthwhile sacrafice, but he never did. In result, the God of Destruction punished them by creating a creature so terrible, the place would become barren, the Reliex. Only one exists, only one _can_ exist. So, I am the ONLY one to capture it?" Eggman wondered. Surely if anyone else had captured it, they would have died. With his intelligence, he was able to outsmart it. He hoped he did.

_So, THAT'S why I need the heart of a hedgehog to take full power over this thing. But I can't do anything right now. Matter Shot will take care of that for me. But I fear...fear that this beast may not be able to be controlled. I must continue my research!!_ the doctor thought. His thoughts processed slowly and carefully, making sure not to bypass anything. This knowledge may perhaps be the key to finally conquering the world. His dream may finally come true!

_I wonder how Bokkun's doing. Hasn't come back for days!_ Dr. Eggman began to view Bokkun as more of a friend than an assistant. In past times, he always pushed him around. Well...you spend months in a deserted canyon with no one around. We'll see how far you get before you want to have people around you. That would be this case.

Dr. Eggman just relaxed in his comfortable leather chair, tightened the buttons on his vest, cracked his knuckles, and got back to his research, which in deed, involved plenty of typing and finger use.

...

"Morning, Amy. You up yet?" Sonic called as he came from upstairs. Amy wasn't exactly up, up. But she was awake, lying on the couch in a peaceful meditation, if you want to call it that.

The blue hedgehog walked over to the window in the living room and began opening curtains so that the sunlight may get through. Amy heard his huming and assumed he was in a very good mood, today. Problem was, he was happier than she thought. Sonic was always a free bird, but having someone around must have lifted the confidence in himself, and the will to enjoy life. In other words, he was beginning to feel even more connected to Amy than ever before.

Amy yawned and stretched, in an attempt to rise from her lying down. The warmth did not leave her as she sat up, and eventually stood up. She still felt that wonderful warmth on her way to the bathroom(other than the one in Sonic's room), in which she grabbed a towel, and stepped into the shower to get washed up.

Sonic didn't mind having Amy around. Sure he had to prepare larger meals because he wasn't the only one eating now. Sure he had to make the couch because someone slept there now, or she'd sleep in the guest room, either or, he'd have more chores. But he didn't care. That pink hedgehog had him lifted up high, for sure. He began to feel passionate around her. He knew he'd soon be able to come out and say, "I love you." But not quite yet.

"Hey Amy, eggs sound good you?" he asked, up next to the door. Through the sounds of running water he heard her say, "Sure, just make sure you don't burn them."

Sonic chuckled to himself. He always burnt things unless he had to give 110 of his effort towards it. But if she wanted them just right, then just right is what she would get from him. Nothing less, maybe something more.

...

"So, what brings you here, Shadow?" Espio asked, handing the black hedgehog a cup of coffee. Shadow took a few sips, then began to explain, "I need to know what you found in that base of Eggman's." said Shadow. Espio seemed shocked to her Shadow say that. Had Vector told Shadow without telling him first? If so, why would Shadow want to know that. Espio felt deep confusion. "I can't help you." Espio muttered.

Shadow made a stern look. "I think you can. You just don't want to!" Shadow set the coffee on the table.

Hopefully they wouldn't disturb the others who lived in the apartment. But things seemed to heat up, and Shadow knew it.

"Listen, I don't want to talk about it. Can't we change the subject here?" Espio seemed to secretly beg. But Shadow's will, as everyone knew, was unbending, unchanging. If the Ultimate Lifeform wanted something from someone, by any means necessary he'd have it.

"Espio, concentrate. You NEED to tell me." Shadow said calmly, not wanting to scare him into talking. Fear from others wasn't going to help anything, anyway.

Espio set his cup down with a sigh. He opened his eyes and looked directly at Shadow's. He seemed to be scared to even think of it. What could he be hiding.

"Alright, listen closely, now. I'm not going to repeat myself." Espio began, grabbing Shadow's full attention. "Some nights ago, Vector, Charmy, and I snuck into Eggman's base in the Forgotten Canyons. We noticed a shadowy figure in the distance as we stood by the main entrance. I turned invisible and went over to investigate. It was an android, at first I thought it was Sonic. But it was definately one of Eggman's creations."

"I see." said Shadow. His tone urged Espio to continue.

"When we finally broke inside, we saw Knuckles run past. Rouge and some cat was with him. I'm guessing a prison break of some sort. Anyway, I snuck into the doctor's quarters, he wasn't there. On his desk, I saw the plans for a most horrific plan. Then, I saw IT!"

"What? What did you see?" Shadow began to be very interested in the subject.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you." Espio concluded.

"No, I'll believe anything about now."

Espio gulped and swallowed his pride in an instant. "A Reliex..."

Shadow didn't laugh. He didn't say thank you. He just remained clueless. He never heard of a Reliex. It sounded dangerous, but what was it?

"A Reliex? I don't understand. What is a Reliex?"

Espio seemed pretty suprised that Shadow had not heard of the Reliex. Then again, he hadn't been born on this planet. If he had, he may have heard of it once before. "Are you familiar with _any_ ancient mythology of this planet?" Espio asked. Curious to know. Shadow didn't want to admit it, but he didn't. Or at least, not very much. Knuckles once told him something about the Forgotten Canyons, but that was about it. Shadow shook his head. Espio made a serious look and nodded.

"I see. A Reliex-according to mythology-is an ancient monster that was used to make the hedgehogs of the Forgotten Canyons pay for their-"

"Hedgehogs?" Shadow blurted out.

"Ahem," Espio cleared his throat, "yes hedgehogs. Anyway, it was created by Osumos to punish them for not making a worthwhile sacrifice in which they were given several years to come up with."

Though Shadow didn't appear interested, he was underneath that complection Things were beginning to become stranger and stranger. But when would it all come to an end? Hopefully, that day would be today.

Espio went into the living room and brought out a suit and tie with a detective hat and pipe to match. He even had the black pants and shoes to go with all of it. Shadow wanted to laugh, but he needed Espio's help and didn't want to upset him to the point he wouldn't help him at all. "Let's go!" Espio ordered, opening his apartement door, getting ready to lock it on his way out.

"Where are we going?" Shaodw asked, not having mentioned a 'field trip'.

Espio just blew into his pipe and looked directly at the hedgehog. "All in good time, my friend. All in good time. Now let's get going..." Espio and Shadow headed out the next instant. Espio locked the door before the two ran off into the distance. Espio was leading the way, Shadow was just waiting to see their destination.

...

"Cosmo, where are you? Cosmo?" Tails called out, walking through the surrounding forests that neared his workshop. It was then that he caught sight of her. She was talking to Old Man Heatherbottom. Tails prayed that the old man was in a good mood today. He didn't normally like to talk to anyone but that old eagle. But then he noticed Cosmo had been planting him some flowers? That seemed pretty odd.

"My, my, aren't you just the sweetest little helper on this side of the forest, eh? What did you say your name was, dear?" Heatherbottom asked.

Cosmo did a little bow, "Cosmo, sir. It's really nice to meet you." Heatherbottom actually smiled once in a long while. He began to chuckle, too. _What?_ Tails thought, never seeing the old goat so happy before. "Well, I must be going now, sir." Cosmo said in a peaceful tone. The old man waved to her as she left, "You come back soon, ya here?!" he called out happily.

_Okay...um..._ Tails' thoughts became jammed up. He couldn't stand to think anymore for the most part. Suddenly he noticed that Cosmo was returning to the workshop, coming right his way. Not wanting to be spotted, he dived to the side, hiding behind a bush. But his entry made a bushling sound, making Cosmo suspicious. She looked to the bush, but suddenly just turned away.

_Could things possibaly get any weirder around here? _Tails thought in disbelief. His world was flipping upside down and there wasn't a thing he could do to stop it. The matter alone was frustrating.

A few minutes passed and Cosmo was long gone, probably back at the workshop. Tails got out from the bush, and ran back through the forest to the workshop. He hoped he hadn't waited to long. They may question his wearabouts. He could always lie, but Tails wasn't exactly the best lier in the history of the world. The yellow fox took a deep breath and continued to run back, finally reaching it. _Well, guess I should go inside._ Tails thought to himself, not wanting to face the strange events.

These events...their occurances seem predetermined, all the more making Tails suspicious, and more blaming towards Dr. Eggman. All of this seemed to happen that day he found the program on that disk that explained the creation of a new weapon. But now, things are all becoming wild and uncontrollable. Sonic's attacked, Amy ended up in the hospital, Cosmo returned (though that can be explained), and to top that all off, that good for nothing android was on the lose! What of Shadow? What was he doing? All these questions surrounding the subject made Tails' feel dizzy from the overthinking. He only hoped that it would end soon.

...

Shadow walked slowly behind Espio as they approached the Forgotten Canyons. Shadow didn't even know much of the place, and yet, even HE began to feel just a bit of nervousness. Not of Eggman, or this new weapon, not even Sonic2. It was just the environment. It seemed to radiate waves of fear through all living things. It'd be likely that Eggman would pick a place like this. For a moment, Shadow believed they were heading to take out Eggman. The black hedgehog leapt over the surrounding rocks, ready to dive into action. Espio, however, quickly stopped his actions, and held him down.

"Ow, what the? What're you doing?" Shadow asked.

"Hold on a second, Shadow. That's not why we're here." Espio explained, knowing what Shadow was going to do.

Shadow crossed his arms as Espio released his grip. "Fine then. We'll do it _your way..._!" he grunted. Shadow always hated doing something another person's way. Especially when it would involve waiting to get what seemed to be a simple task to the Ultimate Lifeform done in such long periods of time. In times like this...or on most occassions, Shadow didn't care for patience. Nor did he have any.

Suddenly he began to wonder, _Wouldn't Knuckles no more about this stuff?_

Finally, he decided to ask, "Espio?"

"Yeah,"

"How do you know all this. I thought Knuckles was the ruin expert."

Espio just chuckled for a moment. "He's a treasure hunter. You think he'd actually take the time to research this stuff? Don't be silly. I know this stuff 'cause I read about over and over again when I was a child."

"Okay. I didn't ask for your life's story." Shadow commented, rolling his eyes. As irritable as he was, Shadow tried to control his anger towards annoyances, especially with Eggman at it again. He couldn't let anything Espio said get the better of him. Sometimes people would say something that bothered him, same with Espio.

Espio looked out beyond the sun filled skies, using one of his hands to block out the intense brightness. But when they got closer, it seemed as if the sun had begun to disappear. The entire landscape grew dark and gray. The radiating fear became almost overwhelming. Espio remembered learning about this as a child. The Reliex was definately awake, and surely it was here.

"Be careful. We don't know if Eggman let that thing out for a stroll or not." Espio remarked. Shadow nodded. Get caught by that thing, and hello dinner...for the beetle, anway.

"So what _are_ we here for, then?" Shadow asked in complaint. It was obvious he was tired of waiting for something to occur. Espio sighed, knowing that keeping the hedgehog cool was going to be tougher than he had hoped. "We're looking for a Syber Tooth(pronounced as cyber), one of the most sacred artifacts you can find in this dump." Shadow nodded in response.

"Unfortunately," Espio began once more, making Shadow gain an expression that said, 'What now?', "Knuckles _is_ the better treasure hunter. The only thing he did for me was taught me how to research this stuff, not how to find it."

"Of course...that's just great, Espio! Bring us to get lost...why don't you just have us walk off a bridge or something!" the hedgehog snapped out of anger.

"Easy, Shadow. That's why I always have a back-up plan." said Espio.

"You better, or I'm just gonna smash that base off the face of the planet." Shadow warned. His tone was icy cold, not a very good sign.

"Don't worry...let's get going..." Espio trailed off. He had already set out into the distance, Shadow sped up to catch up with him. The two of them dived down into the canyon along the base's blindspot. Here they would not be able to be spotted so easily. If they were, they could duck for cover behind the rather large boulders that lay scattered among the landscape, though they are hard to tell from the actually cracked surface since everything was gray.

_Alright, Syber Tooth, here we come! _Espio thought in pure confidence. It was time to take action!

...

"Wow, Sonic. Breakfast _and_ lunch at the same time?" Amy asked, suprised to see he'd done everything so perfectly. Not a single inch was burnt. Everything he set out on the table was cooked to perfection. The pancakes, the eggs, the toast, the toasted sandwitches, even the hotdogs were splendidly prepared. Everything was absolutely wonderful.

"You bet! Hope you're hungry, 'cause there's plenty here!" he exclaimed exitedly. Amy sent a devilish grin his way, "Well, I can't eat it all by myself. If only some kind hedgehog would help me," Amy acted sad, giving off fake tears. "Of course, I'll help, princess." Sonic played along, performing a formal bow, then reaching for her hand, placed a light kiss upon it. "That's very kind of you, sir." she couldn't help but to let out a laugh. Sonic couldn't resist the urge, either. They felt the happiness surge through their bodies, something they never expected to feel.

Sonic pulled out a seat for Amy, and made her comfortable. He served her first, serving himself last. After they had finished their meal, Sonic did the dishes, while Amy sat back down on the couch and pulled out a book to read. She didn't know what it was, but she felt like reading something, so it would just have to do. Dishes weren't Sonic's favorite job around the house. In fact, he didn't like doing most things that weren't fun. But he figured it to be easier than to complain on and on about something so pointless, even in the most serious of arguments it seemd pettyful and childish.

The blue hedgehog soon finished up the dishes, putting away the last of the pots and pans he had used to cook the meal, and soon headed out to the living room to hang around Amy for awhile. There wasn't much to do but that. But it was also times like this Sonic felt uneasy. Uneasy about a certain android that could come and spoil his day faster than he could ever imagine.

"Hey Amy, what ya doing?" he asked. He knew the answer, of course, but he wanted to perhaps start a meaningful conversation.

"Reading a book." Amy said plainly, paying more intentions to the page she was reading rather than the one she was speaking to. _Beaten by a book._ Sonic thought. It was pretty pathetic of him to have someone pay more attention to a book rather than himself. More like a disgrace, honestly.

Sonic looked out the window for a moment. And also for a moment, he thought he saw that menacing robot. But it was only an illusion of his mind. Only the sun shining in through the window was visible. The marvelous flowers blooming outside was all the scenery to see. The hedgehog whipped his eyes, seeing if he had been decieved in which he most definately had. The icy feeling of evil was starting to seize his emotions. He was unsure of what to expect. Evil had many ways of finding weaknesses in its' enemy. In this case, he was evil's enemy.

For now he couldn't afford to waste time wondering about future events. He would just be getting Amy worked up as well. The future alone can not be determined. It can only be predictated, and even then it wasn't carved in stone. Sonic, deep down, knew he had to accept that.

...

"Cream, my dear," Mrs. Vanilla called out from the other room. Her dear daughter turned to the doorway, and sprang up from the coach. The little rabbit ran into the kitchen.

"Dear, me. You _must_ be excited!" Her face lit up as she picked up her daughter and held her close in her arms. She hummed and kissed Cream's forehead. After moments or cheerished love between the two, Vanila set her down on her feet again, getting more to why she had been called.

"Have you seen Tails at all?" asked Vanilla. Cream shook her head. "No, mother. I thought he was with you." Cream's voice gave off a tone of diappointment. "Alright, then. Carry along now," she waved her hands, letting Cream know it was time to go play.

Mrs. Vanilla sighed as she looked to the dishes that still neede done. _They grow up so fast..._ she thought. She remembered being a kid herself once. A time when she herself could enjoy the leisures and luxuries of life. But now she always seemed to wonder where those days ran off to. She grew up, and gave birth to the joy of her life, Cream. Years have been spent taking care of that joy. Like polishing a gem, it was only proper to make sure that her treasure was looked after. Cream was to priceless to ever give up.

If Eggman thinks that he'd be able to get them to acquiesce to him, then he was more foolish than she had thought him to be.

_Why would he want to harm Cream?_ Vanilla wondered. It puzzled her greatly. Cream was such a good girl. She was candid, kind. Never a tantrum to remember. Did Eggman honestly think such a gril deserved this act of irrational cruelity? He had to be out of his mind.

_I WILL protect you, Cream. I promise._ Vanilla vowed, looking at a snapshot of Cream with her friends: Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Chris, and Cosmo on the Blue Typhoon. It had always seemed that Cream was saving her. It was time for a change. It was her turn now, and she would make sure no harm would come to her treasured angel.

...

"I'm back, doctor!" Bokkun exclaimed happily, surving into the room through the hallway.

"Well done, Bokkun. I assume you were successful?"

"Actually,"

Dr. Eggman's expression turned red with anger. "I need a weapon, doctor." Bokkun explained. Eggman nodded and sat back down into his seat. "I see," he said faintly. He pressed a switch and the wall behind him turned around to view a vast collection of lethal artillery, etc.

"Now may I ask why you need these? Did you even FIND that cat?" Eggman began to question. The situation was beginning to get on his nerves, which was obviously not good considering the fact he was already upset. Both his success and Dr. Eggman Nega's success had something to do with this badgering cat. It was simply chaos.

"She's with Knuckles at Angel Island."

"And?"

"And...ah...mmm..."

"You got your butt handed to you...you lost, didn't you?" Eggman asked, his brow raised.

Bokkun nodded sadly towards his boss, "Yeah, sorry Eggman."

Dr. Eggman only nodded and spun in his seat to face the weapon's gallery. "Well, choose wisely, Bokkun." Eggman said. Bokkun couldn't believe his eyes. It was amazing to think Eggman had the time and effort to actually develope these weapons for destruction, support, supply, or simply to smash things. Considering he was a genius, it'd be possible. But this was just too much. Too much to comprehend, and too much to choose from.

"What does this thing do?" Bokkun asked holding up a ratherly large cannon-shapped ray gun.

Eggman smiled seeing that old invention, and the fact Bokkun would want to know about it. "Ah yes, the Demobilizer XK1. My very first weapon invented. How very strange you'd pick my very first."

Bokkun seemed to blush from some sort of embarrassement. Eggman's plain expression turned to a smiling and happy one. Eggman chuckled to himself and stood up from the chair. He walked over to Bokkun, and stood before the enormous weapon vault. He knelt down to Bokkun and patted him on the head, "Wise choice, Bokkun." Eggman tapped the side of the wall, flipping the weapons vault back around, and the vast selection of weapondry once again appeared to be a normal wall.

"Eggman, what does this thing do?" Bokkun re-asked.

"The demobilizer," Eggman began, sitting back down in the leather chair, turning back to face the numerous computer monitors, "was a prototype for the present Matter Shot. Because it is a prototype," Eggman typed in a few things, bringing up a diagram of the weapon, "it is not nearly as powerful and can only stop an enemy from moving for a short period of time, about 10-20 minutes is all."

"So, I'm guessing this wouldn't do much against Sonic, huh?" Bokkun questioned.

Eggman shook his head. "No, but you aren't looking for Sonic, you're looking for that cat."

Bokkun nodded.

With that, an eager Bokkun flew through the doorway, out through the halls. He'd have to be quick and professional about this. Their success depended on it.

Several minutes passed since Bokkun's exit. Dr. Eggman sighed and opened a computer window that read, "Matter Shot Control Panel" in which several options were listed. This included: _Change Formation, Change Settings, Refresh Passcode, Shut Down/Restart/Boot-up, _and_ Additional Options._ Eggman clicked on Change Settings, which actual meant change operations.

Eggman then clicked on, Target Individual. _Prepare for the worst, Sonic!_ Eggman thought with an evil grin across his forehead. With each cold steel key he pressed, Sonic's apparent doom drew closer. Suddenly a large world map appeared, and Eggman targeted by global positioning where to strike next. _Finally I will destroy you! _The evil thoughts continued to swurve their way through his mind. As the doctor looked up at the enormous screen, he looked at the map, and then he saw his target.

Sonic was helping Amy outside in the garden. Eggman zoomed in on the picture and the screen showed him planting flowers, Amy next to him watering as he went down the long rows. They were probably fixing the damages Sonic2 caused in the past. They had been apparently filling in the dirt ruts formed from the massive energy blasts. The ruined brown grass also was being replaced.

Then the doctor remembered, he hadn't spoken to his creation in awhile. He opened up an additional window overlapping the view of Sonic and Amy. Sonic2 appeared before him.

"Greetings, Sonic2. I trust you've been well?" Eggman said. Sonic2 only nodded, "Of course. And as for yourself, master?" it asked. Eggman only sighed, and looked down at the tiled floor. He looked back up and swallowed his pride. "Not so good, I'm afraid. I need your help with something."

Sonic2 appeared to be listening intently. He was in the forest, as the trees towered behind him, and he was standing on a log, lying across a flowing river. "What can I do for you?" Sonic2 asked. His voice was still plain, and heartless. Eggman sighed once more and typed in a few things, "Blaze the Cat, you must find her as soon as possible."

"Dead or alive, sir?"

"Alive..."

Sonic2 understood. "Send me the mission data and I will accomplish this task." Eggman sent the mission data as quickly as he could. With a farewell, the window closed. Now it was time for vengence.

The computer read, "Target aquired...Sonic the Hedgehog."

"Hooo!!" Eggman howled with laughter. Next to him on his command chair was a large red button reading launch. With a fist he slammed it down, and Matter Shot gathered all of the energy it absorbed and launched it in one shot.

...

"Should we plant over here, too?" Sonic asked, slidding down into the dirt rut that ran down into the ground, spraying the side of his house with dust and rocks. Amy ran over to him with the sprayduck still in hand. "Sure, I don't see why not." The both of them knelt back down onto the ground. Sonic wore a bag full of plant seeds. He swung the bag to be in front of him and removed it from his shoulder. He then pulled out several sunflower seeds, and placed them gently on the soil.

Amy lowered the sprayduck and carefully watered it. Sonic, however, payed less attention to the plant than he did to Amy. He starred deeply at her while she wasn't looking his way. He couldn't understand why all of a sudden he gained feelings for her, but whatever the reason, it should be known as destiny.

Suddenly, a cold icy feeling passed through his spine. He knew things weren't well. He looked to the sky, in which it was no longer lit. Amy noticed the forgoing shadow on the ground and looked up. "Night already?!" she seemed to be baffled. Though he didn't want to admit it, so was he. "This can't be good." he said. Amy grabbed him in a tight embrace, one to cope with fear. For once he didn't push her away, but instead, he held onto her as well.

Suddenly, a black and white outlined beam of light lowered from the dark shadow in the sky. Sonic didn't move. He didn't run or even walk away. Amy closed her eyes tightly in fear and held onto him even harder than before. She dug her head into the confines of his chest and wanted to hide from the view of the world. The ray seemed to be growing nearer. But still he didn't move. Still he remained by her side. At all costs he'd protect her. He wasn't sure whether they'd die or live. If they died, he prayed others would save the planet, and if they lived, he and his beloved Amy would forever know this day as the early nightfall. An early nightfall they'd never forget.

The beam of light finally impacted the two. Sonic heard nothing but Amy's screaming and the rendering screech of the ray's power. Suddenly he felt his weight grow and grow. Unable to withstand his ground, the blue hedgehog collapsed onto the ground, leaving Amy standing. Amy opened her eyes and noticed that she was not being affected by the beam, but looked down onto the ground in horror. She could see her hero squirming on the ground in agonizing pain. But the beam wasn't doing anything, was it?

"Sonic! Sonic, are you okay? Sonic!!" she tried to comfort him by pulling him off the ground, but she could not. The instant he left the ground, he collapsed again. "Sonic!" she cried out again wanting to help. Amy couldn't bare to see him like this. The pink hedgehog looked up through the immense light, and saw the shadowy figure. It had to be the cause of this. What was it doing to poor Sonic?

For no apparent reason, the beam that tortured Sonic so vanished into nothingness. As Amy looked back up at the sky, the sun was out again and the shadowy figure that nearly doomed her love was gone. Almost as if it had never happened. But it did. For Sonic lay distortedly on the ground, twitching every so offten. Amy knelt down in a comforting manner, rubbing his back. She moved closer to his ear and whispered to him softly, "Sonic, please, be okay...it's over now."

The blue hedgehog opened his eyes as if waking up from a dream and flipped himself onto his back, looking up at Amy smiling down onto him. Sonic no longer felt the intense surge of pain he had just moments ago. He looked at each of his hands and his feet, wondering what had happened. He noticed Amy holding out a hand to him, and he grabbed it without hesitation. With her help, Sonic was pulled back onto his feet.

"What was that all about?" Amy asked.

"I...I'm not sure." Sonic rubbed his head on its sore...or what appeared sore to him.

"For a moment there you looked...you looked like you were dying. It was scary." her voice shuddered. Almost like she had seen a ghost. Sonic shook his head quickly, and snapped back into the here and now.

"I'll head inside and get us some lemonaid, okay?" Amy called as she walked down the paved path to the front door. When she was finally out of sight, Sonic took some time to think about the occurrances. He remembered that blaster that Sonic2 had in his posession. It was Matter Shot. But that beam was far to large to be shot out of such a small weapon. Aside from all of that, it had been shot from the sky, not even on the ground.

But whatever the cause may be, it was most definately Eggman who was behind it all.

...

"What the? What happened?? Eggman was about ready to pull the ends of his facial hair. An error message was dispalyed before him. Filled with untamed rage, the doctor pounded his keys and entered in a retry code. But another error message appeared. "No!! And so close!!" he exclaimed. His temper seemed to raise to its limits. This kind of thing always seemed to happen to him.

_Why am I worried?_ the doctor asked himself. _With both Bokkun and Sonic2 hunting down Blaze the Cat, I have nothing to fear. Besides,_ a smirk came across his face, _Sonic doesn't even know where to find me!_ With that, Eggman relaxed and layed back in his seat. With a deep breath, he calmed his rage.

_It also gives me time to fix this glitch._ After a moment's rest, the doctor got busy punching in more computer code than ever, and cracking down on the error that had occurred.

Matter Shot must be operational...fully, in order for his plans for the perfect empire to come into reality...


End file.
